Berlin, Germany – A larger debate has begun within the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) over the consequences of the recent federal election results, as reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Despite winning the election with a significant lead, the CDU fell short of its expectations, with 28.5% of the vote, a clear decline from its previous results.
The party’s performance was particularly poor among young voters, workers and in the eastern states of Germany. Johannes Winkel, the head of the Young Union, has already called for a self-critical analysis and now eastern CDU politicians and the party’s social wing, the Christian Democratic Workers’ Association (CDA), are also demanding a discussion.
“We support the demand of the Young Union for an intensive post-election analysis” said CDA chief Dennis Radtke in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “If the SPD loses 20 percentage points and we only gain four, we need to ask ourselves why.” The workers, he added, have largely switched from the SPD to the Alternative for Germany (AfD). “People with small incomes, who work hard and still struggle, can hardly be found in our voter base anymore” Radtke said.
Stefan Nacke, the new head of the workers’ group in the CDU’s parliamentary faction, was more direct. The party’s failure to represent the whole spectrum of the CDU and its neglect of its role as a people’s party were major issues, he said. The party had focused too much on the migration theme and had not effectively presented its economic policies, showing the population that it could secure the country’s prosperity.
“Now we’re seeing that polarization at the end wasn’t successful” Nacke said. “The CDU needs to show more clearly that it also cares about the industry, the security of jobs, education, families and the compatibility of work and family, so that people see that we take their living situation seriously and are fighting for them.”
Sepp Müller, a deputy leader of the CDU’s parliamentary faction and a successful candidate in the election, has also called for swift solutions to problems related to illegal migration and economic policy. He emphasized the need for measures such as deportations, border controls and maximum support for the economy, particularly in the chemical and automotive industries.
Moreover, the CDU’s eastern wing is demanding more representation in the party’s leadership and in the federal government. Müller said that if the party does not put strong eastern Germans in key positions, such as the cabinet, the feeling of being ignored will continue and the AfD will benefit from it.