Thuringian CDU leaders express frustration with national party leadership
Several leaders of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the German state of Thuringia are traveling to Berlin this week to voice their concerns about the party’s direction and leadership. The frustration stems from recent state election losses and the party’s handling of those defeats, as well as internal debates over personnel and policy reforms.
Hannes Raebel, chairman of the CDU local association in Weimarer Land, told the German Press Agency that he has “very little trust” in the party’s national leadership under CDU leader Friedrich Merz. He questioned whether the current leadership possesses sufficient authority.
The meeting, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, is intended as a forum for discussion between the local leaders and Merz and CDU General Secretary Franziska Hoppermann. While described as a “vent” to release pressure, some leaders doubt the agenda’s effectiveness.
Raebel believes the planned discussions on party statutes and programs are unsuitable and proposes a more informal setting with all local chairmen, phones switched off, to allow for open dialog.
Steffen Kania, from the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt local association, emphasized the importance of hearing the concerns of the grassroots. Christian Herrgott, CDU district leader in the Saale-Orla district, Landrat (district administrator), and president of the Thuringian District Council, expressed a desire for a clearer plan to lift the CDU from its current low polling numbers.
The CDU has been trailing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in national polls for months, with some surveys placing the CDU below 20 percent.
Raebel criticized the national party’s response to the CDU’s losses in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berlin, calling them an “absolute catastrophe” rather than a mere “watershed moment.” He warned that the party risks being overtaken if it doesn’t address pressing issues such as rising prices and migration.
Herrgott stressed that personnel debates are not productive and that those in leadership positions need to deliver on reforms, not just announce them. He also criticized the ongoing discussion about a successor to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, saying it creates the impression that politicians are focused on their own positions.
In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the CDU suffered its first-ever loss of representation in a state parliament.
Source
“«Wenig Vertrauen» - Thüringer Unmut über CDU-Bundesspitze”
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