Berlin The members of the CDU consider internal security and the energy supply to be the most pressing challenges at the moment. This is the result of a member survey that the party has conducted digitally over the past four weeks.
Almost 66,000 of the approximately 372,000 members took part in the survey. The result is not representative because the party does not have all the e-mail addresses of the members and therefore not all of them could vote.
The participation is nevertheless “a very pleasing result,” said Merz on Monday after the deliberations of the Presidency and Executive Board, in which EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also took part. The CDU politician is aiming for another term in Brussels next year. According to party circles, the CDU leadership will support you despite your concerns. Secretary General Mario Czaja made a corresponding statement.
For the party leadership, the member survey is a building block on the way to a new basic program. Commissions that deal with different policy areas are working on the program. It is to be adopted next year – before the European elections. It is important to him to include the base, said Merz. According to the answers, she represents the current positioning of the party leadership.
CDU members are in favor of the “C” in the name
This also applies to the “C” in the party name. The vast majority also want to continue to orientate themselves towards Christian values. Last year there was a debate within the party to remove the “C” from the party name in view of the dwindling importance of the churches. Merz welcomed the result. He himself insists on the “C” in the name.
The EU Commission President apparently wants to run for office again.
(Photo: IMAGO/Chris Emil Janssen)
He also welcomed the fact that freedom (“particularly important” for 82.5 percent), protecting human dignity (80.7) and respect, decency and fairness (80.3) are important to members.
According to a majority of respondents (53.8 percent), Germany should assume more leadership responsibility in Europe and the world. They consider a stronger common security and defense policy to be crucial, as well as more intensive cooperation in Europe. This also applies to a European refugee policy. In order to prevent blockages, individual states should, if necessary, move faster than others.
Older people should work longer
However, unlike the traffic light coalition, the members do not want to solve the shortage of skilled workers through more immigration. 30.2 percent reject recruiting skilled workers from non-EU countries. The majority advocates better integrating refugees already living in the country into the labor market and making it more attractive for older workers to work longer.
The unemployed should be encouraged to find work again (82.3 percent). A large majority also advocates strengthening vocational training and investing more in further education and training. The CDU Presidium also discussed both topics with Commission President von der Leyen on Monday.
One of the sensitive issues in the program process is social security. The respondents consider it important to promote private old-age provision more (47.4 percent) and to include more people in the statutory pension insurance (40.4). Only a third of those surveyed consider a supplementary funded pension to be sensible. The traffic light coalition is currently planning to introduce a share pension.
At the same time, the vast majority is against increasing pension contributions or lowering the pension level. Rather, they advocate financing pensions more from taxes and linking retirement more closely to life expectancy.
When it comes to family policy, the CDU members are in favor of better support for caring for relatives and improving the compatibility of family and work. They consider full-time or holiday care for school children or greater financial support to be less important.
More important for socially disadvantaged families is more individual support for the children and the obligation to attend pre-school if their language skills are poor. “The individual comes first. That’s pure CDU politics,” praised Carsten Linnemann. He heads the CDU program commission and now has to take the opinion of the base into account.
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