A few weeks before the state election in Baden-Württemberg on March 8, CDU candidate Manuel Hagel warned his party to stop launching hasty debates. He told the “Rheinische Post” on Saturday that proposals such as limiting part‑time work or privatizing dental costs are “pure nonsense”. Hagel urged that he doesn’t want to “bump people’s heads with such reckless statements” noting that such remarks are counter‑productive and erode the willingness to pursue genuine reforms.

He added that the CDU is the party with the greatest economic competence, yet he sees the proposals from the Mittelstandsunion (Middle‑class Union) and the Wirtschaftsrats (Economic Council) as unconstructive. Hagel also stressed that the Union remains “the party for workers”.