Pascal Reddig, the head of the CDU Youth Group in the Bundestag, is calling on the coalition to rapidly implement the planned reform programs. Speaking to the Handelsblatt ahead of the Youth Union’s event where Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) will speak on Saturday, Reddig stated that the public is tired of constantly hearing about new cycles of reform. He stressed that the government must “deliver now and make the laws that improve people’s lives considerably faster.”
Looking at the Chancellor, Reddig admitted that while the CDU has campaigned strongly for Merz over the years and expectations were high, not all of those expectations have been met. Although he noted that Merz’s goals and those of the Youth Union are aligned, he insisted that simply describing their intentions in government declarations is not enough. As the party that provides the backbone of the government, they must make these changes happen.
The CDU politician urged the Union not to avoid unpopular decisions. “If we have established the country for the future, I am happy to be voted out of office,” he said. However, he added a caveat, stating, “I do not want to be voted out because we have been asleep for four years.”
Specifically, Reddig demands that the compromise reached by the pension commission be implemented as a package this year. He argues that the current form of the “pension at 63” has no future. He stated that a reform that neither elevates the pension standard nor effectively curtails the rise in contributions would be unacceptable for them to endorse.
