Former faction leader in early start
Brinkhaus criticizes the Merz strategy
February 7, 2024, 11:43 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The former Union parliamentary group leader Brinkhaus recommends that his party focus more on the content than start a debate about the future coalition partners. And he calls on the Union to speak to the traffic lights. With both he is in contradiction to CDU leader Merz.
Since his dismissal as leader of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Ralph Brinkhaus has rarely spoken out, but now he is going on the offensive and is calling on his party to focus more on content. In the early start of ntv, CDU politician Brinkhaus said about coalition speculation in his party: “I’m actually bothered by this whole discussion – who, what, when, with whom? It’s now about us as a Union defining content, saying what “We want to, and then we’ll look after the election, if it’s successful, who can we use to implement this content.”
The sentences are probably to be understood as hidden criticism of his successor Friedrich Merz. In an email to CDU members at the weekend, he named both the SPD and the Greens as possible coalition partners for the Union. In contrast, Brinkhaus emphasized several times in the early start interview that it was now important for the CDU to deliver content. “People want to know, what do you do when you govern? And that’s the crucial thing now. And that’s much, much more important than coalition discussions.”
“When I say ‘we’, I don’t just mean the government”
At the same time, Brinkhaus left no doubt that he considers the blockade strategy of his parliamentary group and party leader to be wrong. “The economy urgently needs stimulus. We have to show that we can deliver. And when I say ‘we’, I don’t just mean the government, but, because this is also a matter for the Federal Council, also the opposition .”
Merz, on the other hand, has officially terminated all cooperation with the traffic light government, and in the Federal Council he is allowing the Union to slow down and block it. The Growth Opportunities Act is still stuck in the state chamber. Brinkhaus hopes that the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat will find a good solution here. This is not only important because of the economy, “but of course it is also about the fight against the margins, about the fight against the extremists. And it is important that democracy delivers.”
Brinkhaus also signals a willingness to cooperate with the relief for companies called for by Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner. “If you approach the Union, then it’s like this, we’ll be the last ones to say no, but then we’d be happy and take part.” Tax relief alone is not enough: “We need a large overall package, and I would be happy if the government would come to us and say: This is so urgent now, it not only has party boundaries that have to be defined there, but there It’s actually about us doing something together.”