analysis
CDU leader Merz wants to sharpen the conservative profile of the party with his designated Secretary General Linnemann. The economic expert is considered the exact opposite of his predecessor Czaja – and is a close confidant of Merz.
The CDU wants to sharpen its profile. First, CDU leader Friedrich Merz identified the Greens as the main opponent in the traffic light coalition. Now he is exchanging his general secretary. Mario Czaja has to leave office after a good year and a half. Carsten Linnemann, member of the Bundestag, is to be his successor.
It is officially said that the separation from Czaja was “consensual”. But it also speaks for great dissatisfaction when the party leader separates from his general secretary after such a short time. There has also been rumbling behind the scenes in the CDU for some time. Many in the party think Czaja is too pale and lacks a clear profile.
CDU treads water in polls
While the AfD is benefiting massively from the dispute in the traffic light coalition, the CDU is treading water in the polls. Many within the party hold Mario Czaja responsible for this. Apparently he didn’t have the right recipe to get people excited about the CDU.
For example, a campaign against the heating law became a non-starter. The CDU actually wanted to set an example with the slogan “Fair heating instead of burning”. But hardly anyone signs the petition, which was intended as a reminder for the federal government.
Merz brings close confidante to the side
The change of Secretary General does not come as a complete surprise. While Mario Czaja belongs to the social-liberal part of the CDU and comes from East Germany, his successor Carsten Linnemann is the exact opposite. He is considered conservative and close to business – like CDU leader Friedrich Merz. Both come from North Rhine-Westphalia. With Carsten Linnemann, Merz gets a close confidant as Secretary General.
The original idea of establishing Czaja as a political counterweight at the top of the party failed. Friedrich Merz’s decision is based on a clearly conservative profile.
It is no coincidence that it is Linnemann. He is not only a confidant of Friedrich Merz, but already has tasks that a general secretary actually takes on. Linnemann is head of the CDU principle commission – the commission that determines where the political journey of the CDU should go in the future.