parties
Merz changes CDU general secretary – Linnemann for Czaja
Will no longer work together at the top of the party: Friedrich Merz (right) and Mario Czaja. photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
In the CDU, General Secretary Czaja was considered by some to be the wrong choice – too little presence in the public and in the party structures. Now party leader Merz has drawn consequences.
The successor should therefore be the member of the Bundestag and head of the policy commission of the CDU, Carsten Linnemann. Merz will propose this Wednesday to the CDU executive and federal board of directors to appoint Linnemann as acting general secretary.
Czaja was elected Secretary General in January 2022 with a good 94 percent of the vote. There has been dissatisfaction with Czaja in the party for a long time – among other things, he was accused of not being sufficiently present in public. He was also not heard in party organizations in the federal states.
The 45-year-old Linnemann is considered an economic expert in the party – Merz should expect support on this topic. The party leader wants to make economic policy more of a topic for the CDU in the future. Linnemann has been deputy CDU chairman since 2022 and has been a member of the Bundestag since 2009. Under Merz, he is responsible for working on his party’s new basic program.