The CDU and CSU started the hot phase of the European election campaign with a declaration of war on the traffic light coalition. “One traffic light in Europe is enough,” said CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann at the CDU party conference in Berlin.
Linnemann’s CSU colleague Martin Huber added that a “stop sign for the traffic lights in Berlin and Brussels” was needed in the European elections on June 9th. He added: “The traffic lights are at their end, and that must also become clear on July 9th.”
According to opinion polls, the Union has a good chance of becoming the strongest force in Germany in this election. It is stable at around 30 percent, which is almost twice as much as the SPD, Greens and AfD each predicted.
Von der Leyen: Defending European values
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for European values and achievements to be defended against populists and extremists in the European elections in June. “You cannot build a state or a European Union with Kremlin servants, those who despise democracy and extremists,” said the CDU politician at the CDU federal party conference.
Party leader Friedrich Merz assured von der Leyen that the Union would do everything to ensure that she remained Commission President. He tells all doubters: “Don’t doubt the willingness of the CDU and CSU and the entire European People’s Party to achieve exactly this goal. We will achieve it.”
Program at the federal party conference
At the federal party conference in the afternoon there will also be a panel discussion between Merz and the Russian cultural scientist Irina Scherbakova. Scherbakova is a founding member of the Russian human rights organization Memorial, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. A greeting from the President of the EU Parliament, Roberta Metsola, is also expected. CSU boss Markus Söder is to discuss with the President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, Rainer Dulger.
Beforehand, the delegates want a Europe proposal from the CDU federal executive committee under the title “In freedom. In security. In Europe.” say goodbye. In it, the CDU called for a “pro-European departure for a Europe on an equal footing with the world – secure, capable of acting and strong.”
“If Ukraine loses, all of Europe loses”
Regarding the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, it says: “We must support the Ukrainians below the threshold of entering the war themselves with all political, economic, financial and military means so that they win the war against Russia. Our support must continue until this goal is achieved for Ukraine will be unambiguous, reliable and lasting. It is clear to us: if Ukraine loses, all of Europe loses.”
On Tuesday, CSU chairman Markus Söder called on both Union parties to engage in a committed election campaign. “Let us show that this election to the European Parliament is also a statement for democracy,” he called to the delegates. On the one hand, the election is about the future composition of the European Parliament and the EU Commission as well as the future of the European continent. On the other hand, it is also a national election.
Campaign promises: freedom, security and prosperity
CDU leader Friedrich Merz had already emphasized in his party conference speech on Monday that in stormy times like these, the European alliance, which is based not only on interests but also on shared values, is an insurance policy for the future whose value cannot be overestimated. The Union is going into the European election campaign with the three promises of freedom, security and prosperity. That’s exactly what it will be about in the coming years.
The three-day federal party conference of the CDU ends with the start of the hot phase of the European election campaign. On Tuesday, the party gave itself a new basic program – the first in 17 years. On the initiative of the youth organization Junge Union in particular, a move away from the suspension of compulsory military service was included.
