Status: 01.12.2021 8:23 p.m.
In a TV debate, the applicants for the CDU chairmanship – Merz, Röttgen and Braun – explained how the party should proceed. They agreed on many points. There were differences on issues such as education or the climate.
Actually, they are currently competitors: Friedrich Merz, Norbert Röttgen and Helge Braun want to become the new man at the top of the CDU. But at a joint discussion event in Berlin, the three applicants initially had a pretty good deal of agreement.
Because right at the beginning of the Christian Democratic Triell it was about the critical Corona situation in the fourth wave. All three candidates called for the measures to be tightened quickly. “Uniform and understandable” should be the conditions, emphasized the outgoing Chancellor Helge Braun. Together, the federal and state governments would have to clarify “from which infection occurrence which measure applies to vaccinated and unvaccinated people”. Merz and Röttgen also urged a stricter course, which the coming traffic light coalition should take.
The approval of a possible general vaccination requirement is a little hesitant. But in view of the drastic number of infections, he too finally “got through” to this idea, said Röttgen. From Merz’s point of view, compulsory vaccination is “more and more likely”. However, greater consideration must then be given to those who cannot be vaccinated for serious, for example medical reasons.
New coat of paint for the party image
When it came to the future of the CDU, parallels could be drawn between the applicants’ plans. There was talk of renewal, both at Merz and Röttgen, and of a turning point due to the debacle in the federal election.
The CDU must again “become compatible with the broader population” and again “lead the way in the big questions of this time” – this is how Röttgen describes the path he sees for the CDU. It sounds very similar with his Triell partners. Merz calls it “becoming modern” and “mastering the issues of the times” and Braun sets the goal of “making various areas of society interested again in the CDU” in the future.
Dialogue as a basic recipe
And how do you achieve these lofty goals? Again, more common ground than difference can be seen, because all three rely on teamwork and dialogue. After all, all three are already competing with their own team in the race for party leadership.
In future, however, content should again be determined more jointly, with the participation of all members of the CDU. He wanted “many other faces to shine for the CDU”, that’s how Braun describes his idea of teamwork. Merz relies on “decent, open, fair” dealings with one another and Röttgen wants a “future dialogue”, later he even speaks of a “Germany dialogue”.
Differences only become clear when there are concrete approaches to the content. On the subject of education, for example: Röttgen focuses on overcoming “the crisis of educational federalism” and creating uniform positions for the federal and state governments. Braun is focusing on financial support in order to “enable educational advancement at any age” and Merz wants to turn the “adjusting screw” of vocational training, because it is not being promoted and strengthened enough.
Competition in climate protection
Other sticking points in the debate included stable and generational pensions and better climate protection. With a view to the pension Merz admits: “We have a really big problem there.” A pension reform that will take effect by 2025 at the latest has not been achieved by the elected grand coalition – the SPD is to blame. That is why a pension commission must take on the goal of fair pensions. Braun is also in favor of reforms, with the pension system having to remain competitive on the one hand, and social security contributions must be kept stable on the other. And Röttgen wants to talk to young people about this topic – in places where young people also communicate, on Instagram, for example.
The same applies to climate protection – for Röttgen this is the starting point for entering into a dialogue with younger generations. When it comes to climate protection, “the question of whether is behind us, now it’s about the question of how,” said Röttgen, demanding that the CDU must compete to stand up to the Greens and the SPD, who have so far scored more points in matters of climate, to make a stronger profile again. For Braun this leads to hydrogen as a possible “further fundamental energy source”. In this way, Germany could create a new vision for the future, “instead of importing gas from Russia and oil from the Arab states”.
Not a bad idea for Merz, but the energy supply must first and foremost be stable and inexpensive. And when it comes to climate protection, he wants to see beyond Germany’s borders: Germany must do its part to solve this global problem. That is why Germany must stop “getting out” so much – from brown and hard coal, for example. Instead, he relies on “getting in”, for example in types of power plants that can also work in a climate-neutral manner.