Winkel was re-elected as chairman of the Junge Union

Johannes Winkel has been confirmed as chairman of the Junge Union. At the Germany Day of the independent youth organization of the CDU and CSU he received 265 of 282 valid votes. 16 delegates voted against him, two abstained. For the CDU member of the Bundestag, it is his best election result to date.

In his speech, Winkel pointed out the seriousness of the situation in the Union. It is under enormous pressure after three disastrous state elections. At the same time, the 34-year-old lawyer called for confidence and self-confidence. “Our generation still has a lot to do with this union,” he said. "And we will be the ones who successfully continue to write the history of the People's Party of the CDU and CSU."

Frontal attack on Schwesig

The JU chairman also launched a frontal attack at Germany Day and sharply criticized the SPD politician Manuela Schwesig. Alluding to the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's previous commitment to the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline, he accused her of "letting herself be bought by Russia and selling the whole thing to the German public as climate protection."

Winkel once again rejected Schwesig's allegations that the CDU dealt "inhumanely" with Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD), who resigned after the death of her stepdaughter. “We are definitely not going to let Manuela Schwesig lecture us when it comes to decency and attitude in German politics,” said Winkel.

Wüst: Pull yourself together

The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, also spoke as a guest. He called on the black-red coalition in the federal government to end open disputes and implement agreed reforms. "The debates of the last few days have once again helped no one - quite the opposite," said Wüst. He therefore asks everyone “who bears responsibility: pull yourself together, implement it”.

A reform of the social systems is necessary, emphasized Wüst. Otherwise work would become “increasingly more expensive” due to rising pension and health insurance contributions and jobs would be at risk. The CDU must make it credible that it can “change things for the better” and stands for “confidence instead of fear”.

Merz expected for Saturday

The appearance of Federal Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz on Saturday is eagerly awaited. Last year he clashed violently with the delegates over pension reform.