Following severe setbacks in regional elections, the CDU is facing intense criticism regarding the excessive dominance of its economic wing. Elmar Brok, a long-standing member of the CDU Federal Executive Board, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that moving toward a purely economically liberal position “will destroy the CDU.” He argued that the economic faction holds too strong a position within the parliamentary group. Brok asserted that their policies prioritize “what benefits the upper economic circles,” suggesting that the public is aware that the average citizen pays for these advantages.
Dennis Radtke, the chair of the CDU’s labor wing, echoed this sentiment in the SZ, calling for the party to use the disappointing results from the September elections as a catalyst to realign its strategy. He stressed that the party can no longer ignore its deficiencies in social profiling. Radtke pointed out that it is insufficient merely for functionaries to celebrate in spirits when the general public does not feel that the party understands how to support them in their daily efforts to make ends meet. He cautioned that this lack of connection undermines the party’s claim to be a people’s party.
Brok also warned against blaming the current difficult position of the CDU solely on party leader Friedrich Merz. While acknowledging that Merz makes mistakes and that polls are poor, Brok urged patience, noting that the federal elections are not until 2029. He argued instead that the party had adopted an incorrect direction in recent years. “The CDU is also a labor party,” he stated. “It is fundamentally wrong in the new basic program to claim we are a conservative party. We never were. We are a Christian-social, liberal, and conservative party.” Brok noted that the party is failing to adequately address small and medium-sized businesses and skilled workers, leading a segment of the population-the “middle”-to feel unrepresented and migrate towards the AfD. Brok served on the CDU Federal Executive Board for over 15 years and sat in the European Parliament from 1980 to 2019. Radtke remains a member of the Federal Executive Board and has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2017.
Adding his concerns, Norbert Lammert, the long-serving Speaker of the Bundestag (CDU), expressed worry about the party’s future. Lammert informed the SZ that “the loss of substance among people’s parties is indeed enormous.” He cited not only dramatic drops in public approval during elections but also a spectacular decline in citizens’ willingness to organize within parties like the CDU and the SPD. Since German reunification, membership in both the CDU and SPD has halved, and party loyalty has severely diminished. Furthermore, Lammert observed that the democratic center parties have become so closely aligned that they are barely distinguishable in the eyes of most voters. As a result, those seeking a fundamental shift must look towards the political fringes, such as “Alternativen für Deutschland.” He concluded that the CDU must also focus on refining its profile, asserting that politics without a clear claim to making a difference will fail to inspire identification among voters.
