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Friedrich Merz (CDU) wants to reposition the CDU on "central political issues".
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IMAGO/Frederic Kern / IMAGO/Future Image
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has defended his controversial statement about students with a migration background.
"We have significant problems in schools," said the politician in the ZDF "Morgenmagazin".
"Especially" female teachers have difficulties in being "recognized" by many students.
It is often "also to students from migrant families," he said.
»We have to discuss these issues.«
Merz had described the sons of migrants as "little pashas" on Markus Lanz's ZDF talk show.
He was sometimes heavily criticized for this, for example the former Berlin Greens MP Sabine Bangert called the statements "repulsive".
Merz said in the "Morgenmagazin" on Friday morning that the CDU wanted to be repositioned on "central political issues".
He wanted the party to “regain its economic policy competence”.
At the same time, the economy, energy and climate should no longer be viewed as "separate issues" but as a unit.
On Friday evening, the CDU national board will meet for a closed conference on these topics in Leipzig.
The Greens are now the “main competitor” of the CDU, said Merz.
The key difference is that when it comes to the climate issue, for example, his party “does not rely so narrowly solely on regulation and bans”.
The CDU is convinced that the problems can be "solved with market-based instruments", for example through incentives, research and development.
His party's approach is "fundamentally" different from that of the Greens.
hba/AFP