CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann has indicated he is contemplating a future outside of politics, stating he “never entered politics with the intention of doing so for life”. In an interview with the Funke media group, Linnemann expressed his desire to eventually retire from a different profession rather than from his political role.
When questioned about a potential candidacy for Chancellor in five years, Linnemann firmly denied any such aspirations. He anticipates that current CDU leader Friedrich Merz will seek re-election in 2029, but emphasized that becoming Chancellor was never his personal goal. He reiterated his intention to pursue other endeavors in the future, though he did not elaborate on specifics.
Linnemann revealed that on the evening of the February federal election, in which the CDU underperformed, he considered stepping down. He suggested that the entry of Sahra Wagenknecht’s party into parliament would likely have led to a coalition resembling the “Kenya coalition” – a three-party alliance between the Greens, SPD and Wagenknecht’s BSW party. He expressed skepticism about achieving his desired policy changes within such a coalition and indicated he would have felt compelled to inform Merz of his inability to effectively lead in that scenario. He felt continuing in his current role would have become “unbelievable”. The BSW party narrowly missed the 5% threshold to enter parliament.
Reflecting on his career, Linnemann identified his 2011 vote against the expansion of the Euro bailout as his most difficult decision as a young parliamentarian, a move that challenged the majority of Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU coalition. In contrast, he stated that his decision to remain as General Secretary rather than serving as Economics Minister in the CDU/CSU coalition was not a difficult one.
