CDU politician Günther has given his party some responsibility for the “challenging mood” in the country. There have been failures on the part of the Union over the last 16 years.
Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther has admitted that the Union shares responsibility for the current mood in Germany. People were worried about the economic future and the issue of migration, but at the same time there was a lack of workers and bureaucracy was paralyzing a lot of things, said the CDU politician in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
Because of the Chancellor’s “poverty of explanations”, this is perceived as if through a magnifying glass, he said, referring to Olaf Scholz. “But we as a Union also have our part to play in ensuring that Germany now has to bring about dramatic changes in a short space of time, because in the last 16 years we have not brought about everything that would have been necessary,” added Günther.
Günther: Union is not allowed to just criticize
“We have a challenging mood in Germany right now,” he explained. “After the Corona years, the next crisis came straight away: war in Europe,” he said, referring to Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia. “Now the Middle East conflict with the atrocities of Hamas, which also has an impact in our country. All of this coupled with a government that is currently hopelessly divided and does not give the feeling that it can manage these crises well,” said Günther on the traffic light government.
That’s why he sees the Union as having a duty to help. “People don’t like arguments at traffic lights, and they don’t appreciate it when the Union is content with criticizing. That’s why we make offers; for example, the Union has put some proposals on the table when it comes to migration,” said Gunther.
New CDUBasic program
The CDU leadership is discussing the first draft of a new basic program for the first time in a large group today. According to party leader Friedrich Merz, the paper was completed on Wednesday in a 15-hour internal discussion by the commission. It should now first be presented to the party’s executive committee and then to the larger executive board. It will then be presented to the public.
The new basic program is to be officially approved by the board at a meeting on January 12th and 13th in Heidelberg. The draft will then be discussed with the members and then approved by the 1,001 delegates at the party conference in May.
The CDU initiated the process of a new basic program after losing power in the 2021 federal election. The current policy program dates back to 2007. After the policy commission meeting, it was agreed not to disclose the content of the draft. It is likely to contain, among other things, demands from Merz and others such as for a funded pension provision as a further pillar in addition to the statutory pension, for sticking to nuclear power and for migration agreements with third countries.