Germany Day of the Junge Union: “Union is a serious restructuring case”

The annual meeting of the Junge Union is dominated by the Bundestag election lost by the CDU and CSU. As one of the first speakers, not only Friedrich Merz drew a bitter balance during his guest appearance.

The federal delegates at the annual meeting of the Junge Union received Friedrich Merz in Münster with enthusiasm. The CDU member of the Bundestag declined: “This is not the time for parties.” And so the former Union parliamentary group leader drew a bitter assessment of the past few years for the CDU and CSU in his speech. “With this election result, the Union has become a serious political restructuring case at risk of insolvency,” said Merz.

The Union has become lazy in government. That has to change: For the coming months Merz warned “substantive discussions and determinations”. “We are facing a long, difficult, challenging time of work and discussion,” said Merz, referring to the Union’s possible move into the opposition.

Kuban laments a lack of unity

The federal chairman of the Union’s youth organization, Tilman Kuban, also drew a critical conclusion in his welcoming address: The Union was in “a situation that cannot be otherwise described as shitty,” said Kuban. He lamented the lack of unity in the election campaign. Now it is time at the Union “for young minds and for a new agenda,” said Kuban. The Junge Union wants to be “the engine of renewal”.

“In the long term, more women in top CDU positions”

Wiebke Winter, member of the CDU federal executive committee, said in the daily topics: “We must now see that we can find someone who can bring the party together and reorganize its content. It depends on finding the right head, whether it is a man or a woman is secondary.” In the long term, however, she would like more women to hold top positions in the CDU, “so that we not only have five men with us for the next candidacy, but also a few women.”

The appearance of CDU boss and Union chancellor candidate Armin Laschet is eagerly awaited on Saturday morning. Other speakers are CDU Vice President Jens Spahn and the Secretary General of the CDU, Paul Ziemiak. Initially, CSU boss Markus Söder had also announced his arrival – but he canceled at short notice because he wanted to take part in a CSU grassroots event in Bavaria. Instead, CSU General Secretary Markus Blume is to speak to the delegates. Söder’s rejection criticized the JU boss as disappointing.