The CDU leadership has unanimously agreed: the economic expert Carsten Linnemann will be responsible for the “Attack Department” as the new Secretary General. The 45-year-old should be able to do what Mario Czaja failed to do.
The CDU is getting a new general secretary in Carsten Linnemann, who, however, can only be in office on an acting basis until the party conference in May 2024. The 45-year-old is a well-known face in the CDU, most recently he worked on the basic program. Like party leader Friedrich Merz, Linnemann comes from North Rhine-Westphalia and, like Merz, is considered a conservative economic expert. So the CDU gets “more Merz” at the top of the party.
And this unanimously: The federal executive unanimously supported the party leader’s personnel proposal, as he said to journalists. As expected, the closest leadership circle, the party presidium, had previously agreed. Officially, however, the federal executive board in the CDU is the decision-making body. Linnemann is to be elected at the party conference in May next year. Merz emphasized that Linnemann would have all the rights and duties of a Secretary General until then.
Linnemann spoke of a leap of faith. “I have to get to work right now. I have to work hard now.” He will immediately sit down with the employees of the party headquarters and with the general secretaries in the countries.
Czaja remained pale – especially next to Merz
Linnemann succeeds Mario Czaja, who as general secretary should sharpen the social profile of the CDU. But the man from East Berlin fell short of expectations, for many in the CDU he was the wrong man for the “Attack Department”. Especially next to an omnipresent party leader. Too pale, not enough presence, not enough networked in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus.
The change in personnel should also be a liberation for Merz on his own behalf. Although the CDU is reliably ahead of the SPD in nationwide polls, the CDU does not benefit from displeasure with the traffic light government, but only the AfD. The party and parliamentary group leader is also accused of this.
In addition, Merz verbally drifts back into populism or reveals a thin-skinned lack of sovereignty. Merz’ personal poll numbers are meager. Is he really the right chancellor candidate for 2025? Finally, others positioned themselves, first and foremost Hendrik Wüst from North Rhine-Westphalia. One who governs successfully with the Greens – the party that Merz has just chosen as a political opponent.
Linnemann likes to present himself as a “doer type”
Linnemann should ensure that internal party grumbling does not become a tangible opposition to Merz. The 45-year-old is seen as eloquent, self-confident, and sometimes provocative. He is a welcome guest on talk shows. Linnemann presents himself as someone who gets down to business, who wants to put concerns aside just as much as inhibiting regulations. “Just do it” is a slogan he often hears.
Linnemann is well networked in the party and parliamentary group. Linnemann has been a member of parliament since 2009 and was deputy parliamentary group leader from 2018 to 2021. He has been a member of the CDU federal executive board since 2013, and under Merz he became deputy federal chairman at the beginning of 2022. Merz also made him chairman of the CDU program and policy committee. From 2013 to 2021, Linnemann was head of the SME and Economic Union (MIT), which has around 25,000 members.
Linnemann is said to have been Merz’s favorite for the post of general secretary when he became CDU leader in January 2022. However, Merz gave preference to Czaja in order to offer the eastern associations one from their ranks. And – as a former Blackrock manager – with the ex-health and social senator Czaja to set a socio-political counterpoint to his own tough economic profile.
As is well known, that didn’t work out, so the change is also an admission of failure. Merz thanked “Dear Mario” for his work. He had a “large part” in the fact that the CDU was able to restart after the lost federal election in 2021. Merz announced that he would work to ensure that Czaja continued to perform a “prominent task” in the party in the areas of social and health policy.