CDU district leaders criticize Merz ahead of Berlin meeting — Der Spiegel
In Germany, the heads of district branches of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) sharply criticized party leader and Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a two-day conference in Berlin. They point to what they consider the government’s weak performance, the CDU’s low poll ratings, and the party’s electoral defeats, Der Spiegel reports.
Calls for changes in leadership
Desiree Schrade, head of the CDU branch in Frankfurt (Oder), said she wants to hear Merz’s vision for the party’s future and learn how the CDU can win back people’s interest. She also suggested the possibility of separating the posts of chancellor and CDU leader if Merz does not have enough strength for party work.
According to Schrade, some members in Brandenburg are leaving the CDU because they are dissatisfied with the party’s work in government. Christian Grosse, head of the CDU district association in Potsdam-Mittelmark, also linked members’ departures to federal politics. He said that if policies do not deliver results, this opens the way for populists.
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Discontent ahead of the conference
Hannes Röbel, head of the CDU district association “Weimarer Land” in Thuringia, said he has almost no trust in the party leadership in Berlin. He questioned whether the current CDU leadership has sufficient authority after the latest state elections, in which the party suffered significant losses and failed to enter the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The conference of more than 300 heads of CDU district branches will take place at the Konrad Adenauer House and the Bundestag in Berlin. An exchange of views with Merz and CDU Secretary General Franziska Hoppermann is planned. At the same time, some participants fear that the large number of organizational issues on the agenda will leave too little time for a conversation with the party leader.
Minister of State and head of the CDU branch in Cologne Serap Güler called for the party’s grassroots to be more actively involved in decision-making. In her view, district leaders know directly which issues concern people locally and where the party needs to improve its work.
