Daniel Günther Image: AFP
Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) has sharply criticized the Union’s opposition course in the Bundestag. “We are currently not perceived as a sufficiently better alternative to traffic lights,” said the CDU politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Thursday editions). It’s not enough “to mostly just criticize the policies of the federal government,” said Günther. ‘People have different demands on us as the state-supporting party. They expect suggestions on how the CDU wants to get things under control.’
Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) has sharply criticized the Union’s opposition course in the Bundestag. “We are currently not perceived as a sufficiently better alternative to traffic lights,” said the CDU politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Thursday editions). It’s not enough “to mostly just criticize the policies of the federal government,” said Günther. “People have different demands on us as the state-supporting party.” They expected suggestions on how the CDU wanted to get things under control.
It is about making differences clear and explaining the policies of the Union. Günther warned that this must be done in language that does not belittle the political opponent. He gave the example of dealing with the Greens. “It doesn’t help us if we use mistakes in the heating law to discredit the Greens or an entire ministry,” said the head of government. “We should be clear in the language and explain what we would do differently,” suggested the Prime Minister of Kiel.
At the same time, Günther accused the Union of withdrawing from the traffic lights in the wrong place. Immigration of skilled workers and citizenship law are “not the right topics to stand out from the traffic light,” he said, referring to the growing gap in skilled workers and workers. It will not be enough to make better use of the skilled labor potential in the country. “We must also lower the hurdles for foreign skilled workers and workers,” he said.
He himself thinks it is “right that at the end of a successful integration, naturalization can come more quickly than before,” he emphasized with regard to the reform of citizenship law. The Union should be “rather positively offensive” on these issues, Günther demanded.
The Prime Minister also distanced himself from the statement by CDU party and parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) that gender language was partly responsible for the AfD’s soaring. “With all due respect for gender discussions, it is more important that people feel overwhelmed and not affected by political decisions such as those on heat supply,” said Günther.
“As the largest opposition party, we have to explain better to people what our concrete alternatives are. And thereby win over disappointed voters for the Union who are turning away from the government.”
In the struggle for the Union’s next candidacy for chancellor, Günther also backed his North Rhine-Westphalian counterpart Hendrick Wüst (CDU). Wüst is a successful prime minister in North Rhine-Westphalia “and one of the most important minds we have in the Union,” said Günther of the Funke media group. Günther avoided the question of whether Merz, as CDU leader, was the natural candidate for chancellor. “We will answer the question of the chancellor candidacy in late summer 2024,” he said.
In view of the high flight of the AfD, the head of government in Kiel called on the Union to prepare for difficult government formations. He had never spoken out in favor of coalitions with the Left Party, the incompatibility decision of the CDU applies. However, he is of the opinion that the CDU must ensure that a country remains able to act out of state political responsibility, he said.
“If election results are difficult, other ways must be found,” said Günther. However, the primary goal is always to get democratic majorities in the parliaments.
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