Stop Merkel’s course
Under Angela Merkel the term disappeared into the drawer. After the Chancellor’s resignation, Merz brought it out again and packaged it into a conservative policy program that the CDU supported Federal election 2025 should bring back into government. It was worked on for two years, with the CDU general secretary and Merz supporter taking the lead Carsten Linnemann. At the three-day event starting today CDU party conference There will be a vote on this in Berlin.
The program demands Asylum procedure in third countries, a turnaround in the Nuclear phase-outa retention of the Debt brake – and a Leading culture. “This means that the Merkel era officially comes to an end,” says the political scientist Albrecht von Lucke of the Browse for German and international politics. The program represents “conservative accents that the party has longed for.”
But what exactly is it, the dominant culture? “The basis of our politics is the Christian view of humanity”, “every person should be able to live freely and self-determinedly”, “we are Christian socially, liberal and conservative, we affirm diversity” – this is what it says in the summary of the basic program. “Quite vague, bloodless and diffuse,” is her verdict FAZ – “like something that as many people as possible can feel like they belong to.”
Individual paragraphs of the draft recently made headlines and were criticized as xenophobic and, above all, Islamophobic: From “Muslims who share our values belong to Germany” after criticism from the Central Council of Muslims became “An Islam that does not share our values and rejects our free society does not belong to Germany.”
Further ingredients of Merz’s guiding culture: respect for human dignity, basic and human rights, the rule of law – actually all principles that were already in place Basic Law are anchored. After October 7th, the right to exist was also recognized Israel added.
Internal party division
The term dominant culture has always divided Christian Democrats. Especially the “Merkelians” opposed the debate. Nevertheless, they are mentioned at the party conference little protest expected. The union lies in everyone Survey stable at 30 percent, you don’t want to ruin that through internal disputes. This is also why Merz is likely to be with him Re-election achieve a good result as party leader.
“Whether the program however has what it takes to weld the CDU together is a different matter,” says von Lucke. Because Merz, according to the political scientist, does not have the problem of being seen as not conservative enough – on the contrary: “It is precisely this new, sharp profile of the The party could become a problem with a view to the federal election. While his image within the party is positive, outside it, especially among women, it is clearly negative.”
Von Lucke refers to a survey by FAZ: According to this, 61 percent of those surveyed do not consider Merz to be suitable for chancellor, but only 36 percent speak out against one of his main rivals, the more liberal Prime Minister North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wustout of.
In any case, there is enough reason for debates at the party conference: wild last advertised in the World for a coalition with the Greens in the federal government. Merz supporter Linnemann countered in the Picture, the Greens are the traffic light party that is currently furthest away from the CDU. And the CDU Prime Minister from Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Gunther dared to demand that his party should orient itself more closely towards Merkel’s policies.
The former Chancellor said loudly World Incidentally, an invitation to the party conference was turned down. It is said that she no longer takes part in “everyday political business.” Merkel has never commented on the basic program or the debate about the dominant culture. But you remember her quote: “Sometimes I’m liberal, sometimes I’m conservative, sometimes I’m Christian-social.”
