CDU basic program: A step to the right? The press reviews

According to its General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, the new basic program makes the CDU capable of governing again. “If there were an early federal election, we would be ready,” said the chairman of the program and policy commission on Monday after meetings of his party’s top committees in Berlin. People in Germany are unsettled and need orientation and support. “And we will provide this orientation with this basic program,” said Linnemann.

The majority of German newspapers see it similarly. The voices at a glance:

Abandonment of the bilateral left-wing course or a journey through time in the Merkel era?

“Reutlinger Generalanzeiger”: “In fact, the draft of the new basic program makes it clear where the CDU is heading: a tougher course towards migrants, a dominant German culture, a demand for a commitment to the Basic Law for immigrants, a clear yes to the debt brake, work should be worth it, and that Nuclear power is supposed to help with the energy transition. This seems like a journey back in time to the time before Angela Merkel. The CDU is becoming more conservative again. This does not mean that it is moving to the far right, but is adapting to the middle of society. This is on central issues such as migration and work or energy transition is also much more conservative than the course of the traffic light government. This is shown by the poor survey results for the SPD, Greens and FDP.”

“Munich Mercury“: “Finally: The plucked but matured CDU has a new program after the disaster of 2021. It’s more conservative and edgier than before. Above all, it marks a departure from Merkel’s pulpy center-left course, when the CDU ruled permanently but the state was powerless and deaf, especially when it came to migration policy. This is manifested in a key sentence of the CDU program. From Federal President Wulff’s beautiful but naive statement that Islam belongs to Germany, the Union is now making a clear statement: ‘Muslims who share our values ​​belong to Germany.’ This statement is correct, as is its reverse conclusion. This clarity continues in many areas – finance, security policy, energy. The fact that the CDU (and the CSU thanks to its parliamentary group leader Holetschek) is again talking about ‘leading culture’ is not right-wing, but rather speaks from the heart of the middle class.”

“Stuttgart newspaper“: “The black basic program 4.0 – it is the fourth since the founding of the Federal Republic – promises support and orientation. This creates a vacuum: many people miss support and orientation from the current traffic light government. Some look for them in the right offside. In this respect, it is commendable that the CDU wants to manage this gap in the market in a way that is beyond constitutional doubt. However, it remains doubtful whether it was necessary to demolish the controversial and notoriously misleading phrase from the dominant culture. It’s one of the watermarks that Merz put into the design.”

CDU makes government look weak

“Frankfurter Allgemeine“: “It took the CDU a while to recover from the shock of losing power at the end of the Merkel era. Two years after being transferred to the opposition, she has regained her footing. While the SPD remains within the established channels of its program, the CDU presents itself as the true party of the turning point. The draft of the new basic program proposes changes in direction in key policy areas that the struggling ‘progress coalition’ is unwilling or unable to make. These include points such as the extension of working life, which will only cause enthusiasm among very few Germans. But there are also citizens who appreciate that a party gives them pure wine when they are in opposition, even if it is sour.”

“Leipziger Volkszeitung“: “In order to actually be implemented, the CDU must first win the federal election. According to the party leadership, the new program makes the Christian Democrats capable of governing again. However, the Adenauer House’s ability to campaign is doubtful. And the entrenched image of party leader Friedrich Merz – should he become the Union’s next candidate for chancellor – is also a problem.”

“Nuremberg newspaper“: “In the new CDU basic program, the question of who is allowed to immigrate to Germany under what conditions and who is not, who is allowed to rely on the constitutionally guaranteed right of asylum and who is not, who has to leave Germany again and where, plays a central role. It has to too. Simply because many people in the country expect that more or less uncontrolled immigration will be curbed and that orderly conditions will return, as provided for by the relevant laws. But the law is not being enforced to the extent necessary for citizens to see that the state and politics have the problem under control.”

“Shock ventilation after the trials and tribulations of the Merkel years”

“Handelsblatt“: “When it comes to nuclear energy, the CDU is once again taking a real step backwards from Merkel’s course. In view of high energy prices and climate change, more and more industrialized countries are relying on nuclear power. Germany, on the other hand, seems to have fallen out of time when it comes to energy policy. The traffic light coalition and especially the Greens refuse to acknowledge this reality. The fact that the CDU has written the fourth and fifth generation of mini-reactors into the basic program gives hope that the goal will once again be an equally affordable and climate-friendly energy supply. For many business representatives, the CDU program is likely to act as a relief after the trials and tribulations of the last Merkel years. Friedrich Merz has thereby shifted the axes of his party. Now he has to achieve an election victory on this basis – and then implement his role backwards into government action.”

“Cologne City Gazette“: “The CDU is trying to press the reset button with the new basic program: no more empty content, give it a clear profile. It is questionable whether the paper can achieve this. It is precisely this clarity that the draft lacks in some places: While the passages on migration and social policy are formulated very clearly, other parts leave a lot of room for interpretation. In any case, the CDU is stirring up expectations that will hardly be fulfilled. Many proposals will not be well received by potential future coalition partners. The CDU is not a program party. She has always shown pragmatism, especially in times of crisis.”

“New Zurich newspaper“: “The CDU is moving back to the right: in small steps, but at least. It is the long-overdue start of a course correction. Under the leadership of Angela Merkel, the once dominant bourgeois force had become a zeitgeist party that could hardly be distinguished from the SPD and the Greens. That could change under Friedrich Merz – if the party lets him and if he doesn’t lose his courage.”

“Rhein-Neckar newspaper“: “There was already a party that went into the election campaign with a Heidelberg program. That was the SPD when it first painted a vision of the United States of Europe on the political horizon in 1925. It is not clear whether the Merz CDU will succeed in creating an equally epoch-defining work with its Heidelberg program. Especially since the Christian Democrats primarily promise individual and material happiness through more work and tax breaks. There is less room for communal experiences. Nevertheless, this program – similar to the comrades – also represents a break with the previous line. Not only in asylum policy, but above all in the socio-political character of the draft, which is somewhat Germanic, which is certainly what conservatives from the extremist AfD have lost their way should be recruited back. A good plan, especially if it is combined with harmless things like a gender guideline.”