Union after the federal election: no compass, no character head

The Junge Union’s “Germany Day” has become a debate on the election debacle. How it should go on now, however, remained open, thinks Kristin Schwietzer. There is a lack of unity and bridge-building.

“The wrong candidate, the wrong strategy, no content, no goals, constant arguments with Söder” – this is how the debate on the election debacle could be summed up.

It wasn’t a nice reception for the guests from the Adenauerhaus. Whoever from the CDU party leadership showed up at the youth party in Münster had to take a beating. The Junge Union’s reception was anything but nice. Electoral language has seldom been so ruthless in the Union.

The “Germany Day” in Münster shows what the CDU is missing. There is a clear compass and a character that holds the store together. The greatest threat to the Union after the election failure is itself. What the CDU and CSU have dominated at the last minute for decades, they have just lost: unity.

No fresh heads built

This is probably one of the reasons why everyone in Münster is talking about team spirit. Behind this is the great fear of losing its status as a people’s party. The Union stands in its own way. Now what she has been neglecting for years is taking revenge. To build young, fresh minds behind Angela Merkel, who are able to overcome party-political boundaries, to build bridges between the workers’ wing, business people, security politicians, the women’s union, the climate union, the Christian Socialists. All of that is CDU. Some brand essence was rarely seen in the past few years.

Is that still a people’s party?

Karl-Josef-Laumann speaks at the party congress in Münster as a representative of the Christian-democratic workforce of the CDU. For many years he has been a loyal champion for his cause. And yet one asks oneself, shouldn’t the 40+ generation have long been standing there and giving a fiery speech in its place? Laumann is right when he says that the party’s executive boards are only lawyers. “Where is the reality of life for people who have a completely normal job?” he asks.

At least that is not the People’s Party. The CDU no longer reaches the breadth of society because for two years it has been revolving around the questions of who can be party chairman and who can be chancellor? In doing so, she forgot to finally bring the program process initiated by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to an end. The listening tour has not become an answer tour. There is no basic program that sharpens the profile and clarifies what the CDU stands for today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

The time is running

Instead, the staff carousel continues to rotate. Jens Spahn would like to work on the renewal process. Ralph Brinkhaus swears the Union for four years of opposition, through which he wants to bring it, and so almost casually raises the claim to leadership for himself. Norbert Röttgen and Friedrich Merz are also still in conversation. And also Carsten Linnemann, who for many in the Junge Union is the secret preferred candidate.

The CDU has to decide what its renewal should look like and which face represents it. Does she rely on experience or does she choose a young party leader who will grow into the office? There is not yet a team that many would like to see. Above all, this requires a willingness to compromise and sometimes to back off. Forming a team takes time. But the Union doesn’t have that. In the next year, the CDU will have to defend three prime ministers. Four state elections are just around the corner. Disputes and personal debates should only hurt.