Has hardly any money to stand up to the AfD in the polls: CDU party leader Friedrich Merz. © Michael Matthey/dpa
The CDU has problems with finances and has to make massive savings. At the same time, the AfD is on the rise in the polls. This causes unrest.
Berlin - Fewer donations, fewer members and less income as an opposition party: The CDU has had to plug a gaping financial hole since losing the 2021 federal election. Now party leader Friedrich Merz has apparently made the red pencil - and prescribed a comprehensive austerity course. This is causing unrest in the state associations. Because there are difficult election campaigns in some places, especially Thuringia could be hit hard. State elections are due there in 2024, and the AfD is experiencing a boom in polls there. Does the firewall wobble to the right?
CDU must save - huge hole in party coffers
In fact, the CDU's finances seem to give dramatically less money to associations, party conferences or campaigns. So the hole in the party's coffers is huge. The expected expenditure of 53 million euros would only be offset by revenues of 35 million this year, Die Welt reported on Friday (2 June). For this reason, all branches and national associations are called upon to reduce costs in order to be above plan again in the coming year. According to the report, savings of up to 20 percent are to be made on average across all items.
How can the gap in finances be explained? This is due to several developments that affect the CDU unfavorably. A large part is due to the fact that at the beginning of this year the Federal Constitutional Court overturned the increase in party funding decided by the Grand Coalition in 2018 as unconstitutional and the Christian Democrats now have to pay back 18.7 million euros to the Bundestag administration.
The repayment affects all parties represented in the Bundestag, including the SPD, FDP, Greens and Left. But in the case of the CDU/CSU, the situation is aggravated by the fact that its revenues have shrunk as a result of going into opposition. This is because the reimbursement of campaign expenses in Germany is based on the number of votes won. However, since the Union lost more than eight percent in the Bundestag election, less money flowed. In addition, there is less income from elected officials who pay part of their diets to the party. At the same time, membership fees and donations fell massively.
Little money for election campaign: AfD is breathing down the neck of the CDU in the polls
The bottom line is that this puts the party under massive pressure. Because the CDU wants to return to power, at the federal and state levels. Elections are scheduled for the coming months, first in Bavaria and Hesse. Then in the coming year also in Thuringia, where the state association trembles especially in front of the AfD. Especially in this state, the Union is feeling the rise of right-wing populists in the polls.
Nationwide, the AfD has recently been able to make massive gains in the polls. In a survey published on Thursday (1 June) by Infratest dimap, the Alternative for Germany continued its upswing in the polls and drew level with the SPD. Both parties now have 18 percent of the vote in the ARD Germany trend and share second place in voter favor. At the same time, satisfaction with the traffic light government fell to a low level. The CDU/CSU is clearly ahead with 29 percent, but lost one percentage point.
0
Also Read
Pope Francis banishes Benedict's confidant Gänswein
READ
"Prigozhin flees": Apparently chaos in Wagner's retreat from Bakhmut – Ukraine reports high Russian losses
READ
Drone attack on Putin's residence - Russia's elite trembles
READ
Modern battle tanks from the West meet Putin's defensive wall
READ
After victory in Bakhmut: Wagner mercenaries and Russia's soldiers advance along highways
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
Firewall to the right: Merz wanted to halve the results of the AfD
When he took office, Friedrich Merz had made a promise to the CDU. He wanted, he sounded, to halve the election results of the AfD. That is possible. Or is it? In view of the current polls, some in the Union have strong doubts. While the AfD was still at twelve percent when Merz took office, the trend is more likely to double.
Who is to blame for the AfD's high in the polls: CDU politicians call for self-reflection
Secretary-General Mario Czaja blames the chaos policy of the traffic light for the strength. But within the CDU there are also warning voices. The development was also "catastrophic" for the Union, said CDU politician Thomas Bareiß of the image. And foreign affairs expert Norbert Röttgen also spoke of a "disaster". The CDU/CSU should also "ask itself self-critically why we practically do not benefit from such great dissatisfaction with the government," he tweeted.
At the same time, Federal Executive Board member Serap Güler wrote: "This state of affairs must alarm all democrats. All. We all have a responsibility to ensure that this changes quickly." But how is this supposed to change? In any case, the money for campaigns and an all-encompassing election campaign is more than scarce. (jkf
)
