Situation of the CDU: Before the CDU meeting: the question of justice comes into focus

Berlin. Before the CDU Presidium's retreat to deal with the recent electoral failures, leading Christian Democrats are calling for more attention to be paid to people's everyday problems.

At the same time, CDU General Secretary Franziska Hoppermann made it clear before the discussions with the inner party leadership that there was no single solution to the party's problems. The presidium with party leader and Chancellor Friedrich Merz will meet on Sunday and Monday to analyze the causes of the September election failures and derive consequences from them.

Thuringia's Prime Minister Mario Voigt, who is also a member of the executive committee, expects the retreat to be a new start in terms of content. “We have to talk about how life can become affordable again for people,” said the CDU politician to the German Press Agency in Erfurt. Heating, refueling and shopping have become too expensive for many people. That has to change. One of the CDU's strengths has always been its ability to address people's everyday problems. “I sense a deep longing on the part of the base for the CDU to once again clearly formulate what it stands for.”

The CDU does not claim to be “the second strongest force in Germany,” said Voigt, referring to survey results that show the AfD clearly in the lead nationwide. Voigt sees the CDU Prime Minister as a mouthpiece that draws attention to the burdens on people because they are close to the citizens in their federal states.

Berlin's CDU state leader Stefan Evers told the t-online portal: "We have to ask ourselves the question of why fewer and fewer people trust the CDU." We will talk about this with all honesty and clarity. This week, Evers also attributed considerable complicity to Merz, saying the Chancellor lacked empathy and approachability.

The head of the CDU social wing, Dennis Radtke, also warned that the problems of broad sections of the population should be taken into account. "We cannot reduce the question of justice only to basic security recipients and refugees. We do not have luxury supplies," said the chairman of the Christian Democratic Workers' Association (CDA) to the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger". Radtke sees the CDU in a crisis of trust. The reason is that the party's Christian-social profile is hardly visible anymore.

Radtke recommended that party leader Merz take the North Rhine-Westphalia state association as a model. “In North Rhine-Westphalia the CDU is definitely still a people’s party.” A cabinet there without a clear Christian-social profile is unthinkable. The CDU is also anchored much more deeply in the reality of people's lives there. North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst is repeatedly mentioned as a possible successor to Merz.

CDU General Secretary Hoppermann also discussed the concept of justice. In addition to preparing the planned reforms, the Presidium must also focus on impetus for the situation of the population: “We can only create justice and acceptance if we succeed in both: courageous, long-term changes for the future and noticeable, short-term improvements in everyday life,” Hoppermann told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.

At the same time, she warned against expecting quick solutions. “This retreat should be about one thing above all: the signal from the latest election results has reached us,” said Hoppermann. “It must be clear to all of us that this exam is not a silver bullet that will magically eliminate all problems overnight,” she added.