Deputy CDU Chairperson Karin Prien stated that despite the Sunday election results, the party leadership would remain firmly behind Friedrich Merz as party leader and candidate for Federal Chancellor. She urged the party to demonstrate unity, saying, “I assume that we will jointly monitor and analyze the elections in the CDU Presidency in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus, and then on Sunday evening, we will come to no other conclusion than we have today: We stand behind the Chancellor.” Speaking to the newspapers of the Mediengruppe Bayern (Friday editions), the Minister for Education also made an urgent appeal to her party to end internal debates.
Prien dismissed the idea that structural problems within the CDU could be resolved simply by changing personnel. “It is an illusion to believe that the structural problems we have could be blown away by a personnel change,” she said. She stressed the importance of consolidating support, adding, “I appeal to my party to now unite and strengthen the Federal Chancellor.”
She characterized the CDU as suffering from a general sense of nervousness and exhaustion. “Our CDU members, our deputies, and supporters are similarly bewildered, nervous, and exhausted, just like society as a whole,” she explained. “The feeling of lacking self-efficacy is widespread; the feeling of powerlessness is present.” Prien acknowledged that making strong statements can initially provide a perceived sense of impact, making one media-friendly, but concluded, “As a party, we are quite turbulent at the moment.”
