Some CDU members in Magdeburg had imagined everything so nice on Saturday. In Berlin it crashes at the SPD party congress, the grand coalition is once more at stake. And what a historic opportunity it would be if a kind of conservative revolution were instigated in Magdeburg. The "Merz Revolution", as it stood on posters, the CDU members held up here.
But the revolution failed. Friedrich Merz, who was to lead the government downfall in the fantasies of the delegates, blew it off personally.
The event on Saturday also had a different theme. Over 100 CDU delegates met in Magdeburg for a small party congress to end a months-long conflict in the state association. The question revolves around the question of whether the party should open to the AfD coalition.
Friedrich Merz had been invited to this appointment as a kind of conservative authority of CDU Chief of State Stahlknecht and Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff. Merz is popular there. Last year, Saxony-Anhalt was the only federal state to conduct a membership survey on who should become party chairman. 55.8 percent voted for Merz. He stroked the soul of those present and told in his speech of a supervisory board post, which led him for years to Central Germany.
Merz: "The SPD is in the last suicidal phase"
More than 40 minutes later, the former Union Group leader spoke and attacked the Social Democrats in particular. "As in the past," says many of the present delegates. "Are they still intellectually or mentally involved, or are they spoiling themselves by a permanent student who has never made money in their lives?" Merz shouted to the Maritim Hotel, which earned loud applause. The coalition partner is developing into a "self-help group Kevin Kühnert". "The SPD is in the last suicidal phase of its existence as a people's party," said Merz. "How long can that be okay?" He questioned the Grand Coalition.
The new SPD chairman Saskia Esken take Merz on the grain. She should be invited to Saxony-Anhalt and be told what socialism has done. The party leader had recently defended the term "democratic socialism".
When asked about his own ambitions, Merz put on the handbrake. He wanted the party to succeed together, so he was also in contact with party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer almost every day and was trying to programmatically support the CDU.
Cancellation to the AFD
The Revolution signs in Magdeburg were organized by the so-called "Conservative Circle". Also "Merz 2021" stood on it, a delegate found the poster action next to it. The members of the circle come mostly from the Harz and have already brought a coalition with the AfD into play. However, as expected, Merz also rejected this proposal on Saturday, adding instead that the opposition also plays an important role in democracy, causing some delegates to become irritated: should the CDU no longer continue to govern?
Otherwise, the party convention was surprisingly harmonious. With only two votes against, the rather disjointed national association adopted a conservative basic paper in which "fatherland, patriotism, love of one's country and dominant culture" are called "adequate models of contemporary politics".
There had recently been discontent in the party over the Kenya coalition, the black-red-green coalition that governs Magdeburg since 2016. Haseloff defended the government. It has been much better established as a CDU, as it has just done the party colleagues in Saxony, where currently also creates a government with the SPD and Greens. Some of what was there in the coalition agreement, was for the coalition in Magdeburg still a no-go for CDU.
Demonstrated unity after the Wendt affair
The country chief Holger Stahlknecht called the government in Magdeburg "center-left", which should not be the goal for the Christian Democrats. One must prevail more against the coalition partners.
Stahlknecht is counted. Ger first scarcely survived an affair after he wanted to make the controversial police commander Rainer Wendt his secretary of state. (Read the whole story about Rainer Wendt here.) He visibly vied for sympathy, and at the end of the event he pulled off his symbolic tie and jacket. Getting started is now the order of the day.
If this succeeds, will probably show up in one year at the latest. Like Merz, Stahlknecht is said to be aiming for a top candidate in 2021. In the state election in Saxony-Anhalt Stahlknecht to inherit the Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff, Merz aspire to higher orders in the Federation. The two contenders presented themselves in front of their party confidently. At the same time, however, both emphasized that discussions on human resources are currently not being pursued.
