Less than three weeks before the federal election, the Juso leader, Philipp Türmer, has increased the pressure on the Union’s chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz and his own party leadership.
Türmer told the “Spiegel” that he receives dozens of messages every day from Juso members and other parts of the party, all saying that a coalition with the Union under Merz is out of the question. This demand is not yet being taken up by the party leadership, in contrast to the Green Youth, which has already called for a rejection of any coalition with Merz.
Türmer also sharply criticizes the CDU leader, stating, “Cooperation with the far-right, blackmail instead of seeking compromise and the feeling that we are dealing with a politician without impulse control – all of this makes us seriously doubt the government’s ability of the Union in this state.”
Merz had recently submitted a bill to the Bundestag to tighten asylum laws and had accepted votes from the AfD in its favor. The SPD, Greens and Left Party accuse Merz of broken promises and a “break in the dam” in his handling of the AfD.
The Jusos are now making it clear that possible coalition negotiations after the election should not be taken for granted. “I hope that democratic majorities are possible outside of a black-red coalition” said the Berlin Juso leader, Kari Lenke, to the “Spiegel”. The past week has shown “how much the CDU/CSU and SPD parties separate in terms of content and ideology.