The economic politician is considered a promising candidate for the CDU chief position.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin After the electoral defeat of the CDU and CSU, the CDU politician Friedrich Merz described the Union as a “serious restructuring case at risk of insolvency”. In fact, the well-known insolvency administrator and restructuring expert Lucas Flöther, who has made a name for himself with procedures such as Air Berlin, Condor or Abellio, sees interesting parallels between the restructuring of a party and the restructuring of a company.
Mr. Flöther, what do the Union and troubled companies have in common?
There are two main tasks involved in restructuring companies: financial restructuring and economic restructuring. The financial restructuring usually means a haircut, i.e. removing contaminated sites or coping with the past. The performance restructuring is about a strategic realignment, i.e. positioning for the future. In a figurative sense, this also applies to a party that was ultimately unsuccessful.
Let’s look at the contaminated sites.
In the course of the financial restructuring, corporate finances must be put back on a solid footing. What the restructuring of finances is for a company, especially on the income side, could be equated with the removal of legacy personnel and content for one party.
The Union would have to say goodbye to weak staff and outdated ideas. What else would be needed?
In performance management restructuring, there are two areas of action in particular: firstly, the creation of efficient and effective processes, and secondly, regaining competitiveness.
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What does this mean when applied to the party?
The reorganization of the processes means for one party in particular the improvement of the decision-making processes as well as the competence of the administration. Here, for example, the party headquarters should be mentioned, with election campaign organization, communication and the like.
The insolvency administrator Lucas Flöther has made a name for himself with procedures such as Air Berlin, Condor or Abellio. He is also the spokesman for the Gravenbrucher Kreis, which brings together Germany’s leading insolvency administrators and restructurers.
(Photo: dpa)
And how can the party become successful again?
The core of a competitive business model is a contemporary product, in this case the party program, which appeals to customers, i.e. voters, and convinces in comparison to the competition, i.e. leads to the regaining and winning of new votes.
What first step is essential for the party?
As in a company, a party in need of reorganization needs a reorganizer: an experienced specialist with his own authority, who is concerned with the matter and who usually does not pursue any ambitions of his own.
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