CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann Image: AFP
The new CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann has announced a clear course for his party and has reaffirmed its differentiation from the AfD. ‘Elections are won in the middle. But people first have to know what we stand for as the CDU,’ Linnemann told the ‘Bild am Sonntag’.
The new CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann has announced a clear course for his party and has reaffirmed its differentiation from the AfD. “Elections are won in the middle. But people first have to know what we stand for as the CDU,” Linnemann told the “Bild am Sonntag”. He spoke out in favor of faster procedures against violent criminals and called for the citizens’ income to be revised. He rejected cooperation with the AfD at federal or state level.
“In Germany there is a quiet but clear middle-class majority that sticks to the rules, goes to work in the morning and gets involved in a sports or music club in the evening,” said Linnemann. “Being there for these people should be the top priority for the CDU.”
On Wednesday, Linnemann succeeded the previous CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja, who had been in office since January 2022. Like Merz, Linnemann belongs to the economic wing of the party, while the former Berlin Senator for Social Affairs, Czaja, belongs to the Union workers’ camp.
In the interview with “Bild am Sonntag”, Linnemann called for tougher action against violent criminals in outdoor pools and against climate activists who stick to the streets. “Anyone who attacks people in the outdoor pool at noon has to sit in front of the judge in the evening and be sentenced,” said the member of the Bundestag, who also heads the program and policy committee of the CDU. This also applies “on weekends”. In addition, “the penalty must be fully exhausted, up to and including imprisonment”.
Linnemann went on to say that the “strong rule of law” only works “with deterrence if the perpetrators have to expect that they will be convicted and face the consequences on the same day.” The judiciary must also “take much tougher action” against the climate activists of the Last Generation organization, said the CDU politician. There are “for the most part repeat offenders”, some “can even be described as intensive offenders”.
At the same time, Linnemann reiterated the demarcation of his party from the AfD. The CDU General Secretary emphasized that there would be “no cooperation whatsoever” with the right-wing party, either at federal or state level.
When asked about the main opponent of the CDU, Linnemann said: “In the federal government there are currently the greatest differences with the Greens. Otherwise, I would recommend that we do not look at a specific party or at the zeitgeist or the left mainstream.” He is concerned with the fundamental values of the CDU, “not with party-political tactics”.
At the end of June, the CDU chairman Friedrich Merz described the Greens as the “main opponent” of the Union in the federal government. He called the AfD an “enemy of our democracy”.
Linnemann accused the traffic light coalition of giving people the feeling “that the state knows better how the individual has to live”. He cited the controversial heating law as an example. This has led to a great deal of uncertainty among the citizens, also because the exact structure of the planned funding is still unclear. “Should the Union govern again in 2025, we’ll do it again in principle,” said Linnemann.
He also voiced sharp criticism of the basic income that had replaced Hartz IV as basic security for the long-term unemployed at the beginning of the year. The term alone is misleading, Linnemann complained: “Citizens’ allowance sounds as if every citizen is entitled to this benefit from taxpayers’ money. We have to change that.”
Those who cannot work need the full support of the state. “But if you can work and receive citizen income, you also have to take a job. Otherwise you can’t expect any help from the state. That’s why we will tackle citizen income when we come to government,” announced the CDU general secretary.
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