CSU retreat in Seeon: One heart and one soul – Union celebrates the start of the election campaign

CDU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz has announced a U-turn in key policy areas if the Union wins the federal election. “There will be an end to this economic policy. There will be an end to this immigration policy. There will be an end to this naive foreign policy,” said the CDU chairman at the CSU regional group retreat in Seeon Monastery in Upper Bavaria.

Everyone who wanted to govern with the Union would have to ask themselves whether they wanted to change on these issues. “If they don’t want to change, they’ll stay on the sidelines.” Merz responded to the question of whether he would continue to consider a coalition with the Greens after the election on February 23rd. He emphasized that he was not running a coalition election campaign, but rather an election campaign for the Union.

The CDU and CSU start the election campaign together

The annual closed meeting of the CSU regional group in Seeon was the Union’s start to a short and intensive federal election campaign this year. The two sister parties used it to demonstrate maximum unity. CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt emphasized: “The CDU and CSU are marching in lockstep towards this federal election.” They want to fight with passion for the necessary policy change.

Merz sounded very similar: “We are not only going into this election campaign together as one, but also with great optimism.” On February 23rd, the Scholz chapter and the traffic light chapter should end and a “new era” should begin with Merz as Chancellor, emphasized CSU boss Markus Söder. “You have our 100 percent support. We want you to become Chancellor and form a new federal government.”

CSU relieves change in CDU program

This means that the relationship between the Union parties and their chairmen differs significantly from that in the 2021 federal election campaign. At that time, Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet (CDU) not only had to fight against his political opponent, but also had to endure constant crossfire from Munich.

This also has a lot to do with the programmatic change the CDU made under Merz. This particularly applies to the issue of migration, which has been the main point of contention between the CDU and CSU since the refugee crisis in 2015/2016. There was a world of difference between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “We can do it” and then CSU leader Horst Seehofer’s demand for upper limits.

The positions have now aligned. Merz’s move immediately before the CSU meeting to revoke German citizenship from naturalized foreigners with two passports who become criminals outraged the remaining traffic light parties, the SPD and the Greens, but was entirely to the taste of the sister party.

There is now “a different spirit” in the CDU, said Söder euphorically at the start of Seeon. And at the end he nodded appreciatively when Merz said almost ruefully: “I know what mistakes the Union, especially the CDU, my party made on this issue in years 15, 16, 17. We not only don’t want these mistakes Repeat, we want our policy and we will fundamentally correct our policy on this issue.”

Working on the Greens

One of the slight dissonances that still exists between the CDU and CSU is the relationship with the Greens. For a long time, Söder’s no to a possible future collaboration sounded much more categorical and harsher than Merz’s. However, he continued to approach Söder in Seeon.

Merz reported that he looked intensively at the economic data again over Christmas. His assessment of the actual situation of the German economy has become even more critical. “And also my inner distance from those who are responsible for it.” In addition to the Chancellor, this is especially the Federal Minister of Economics.

Experts see mistakes going back to the Merkel era

The Union heard twice in Seeon that its demonization of Robert Habeck (Greens) as the “face of the crisis in Germany” (original sound Dobrindt) is not entirely supported by the facts. First, the President of the Association of Family Businesses, Marie-Christine Ostermann, complained that there had been no fundamental reforms for better competitiveness in 20 years. “The last major reform was Agenda 2010, which was carried out by the Reds and Greens.”

Then on the final day, economist Veronika Grimm gave a lecture: “We have now had five years without growth. We are at the same economic output as in 2019.” Both show that the current economic misery – one of the central election campaign topics – has its roots, at least in part, in the era of Union governments.

Differences also in a CSU favorite topic

Merz was also cautious about the CSU’s demand for an expansion of the so-called mother’s pension. This has always been a topic of the CSU that has been supported with great sympathy, including himself. “However, we are always faced with the question: Shouldn’t we also improve the infrastructure for the care of children? That will have to be weighed up Result,” said Merz and then made it clear: “I have a different focus.”

However, that was only a peripheral aspect. All in all, there was sunshine in Seeon – although this was what was missing. The beautiful pictures, preferably with blue skies and glittering snow, that the CSU likes to send to the Republic from its closed meetings, were not available because it was gray and rainy. In a sense, a foretaste of the winter election campaign that has just begun.