Sunday 17th October 2021
Lessons from the Germany Day of the JU
Lots of worries and a secret star of the Union
By Maximilian Beer, Münster
The German Youth Day of the CDU and CSU is the first major party event since the historic defeat in the federal election. And it brings a lot to light: a secret star, many homemade problems and a new desire for debate. Five lessons from the annual meeting of the Junge Union (JU).
The Junge Union celebrates its secret star
Carsten Linnemann does not have its own program item on the Germany Day, no running-in music of its own. Unlike Friedrich Merz, Jens Spahn and Ralph Brinkhaus, who, like Linnemann, are said to have ambitions for the CDU chairmanship, the appearance of the parliamentary deputy is only part of a “pitch” in which he can present ideas for the Union alongside other politicians. He has seven minutes for that.
Nevertheless, it is the head of the SME and Economic Union who is making the hall as loud as hardly anyone else this weekend. With his demands he meets the taste of the young conservatives: Linnemann wants a member survey for the election of the CDU chairman, he generally wants “that in future it is not the Chancellery that decides, but the party”. He calls for more debates in the Union, in contrast to the abolition of conscription or the end of nuclear power.
Whether in the corridors, in the courtyard or in the exhibition hall: The name Linnemann often comes up among the delegates. The 44-year-old is a passionate, pointed speaker, an economic liberal and Merkel critic. A more contemporary version by Friedrich Merz, whom he supported for a long time. You have to reckon with Linnemann in the race for leadership positions in the Union. If he wants to. Like the other potential candidates, he keeps a low profile on Germany Day.
The Union has a problem with women and young people
Both are known. In the joint parliamentary group, the proportion of women is only 23.5 percent, and no woman is under discussion for the CDU chief position. This imbalance in terms of gender can also be observed in other party areas; at Germany Day it is always at least a marginal issue. There is more talk about the youth problem of the CDU and CSU – many delegates seem to have the feeling that they cannot build on well with their own generation. In the federal elections, the Union ended up being beaten among the first and young voters behind today’s traffic light explorers from the Greens, FDP and SPD.
Just what to do The chairwoman of the women in the Union parliamentary group, Yvonne Magwas, calls in her contribution to the “Pitch” for a CDU dual leadership with equal representation. However, that would not find a majority this weekend. Besides Digital Minister Dorothee Bär, Magwas is the only woman with an official speech. There is a certain perplexity in the matter. At least there is agreement that more women should apply for management positions.
When it comes to young voters, the debate tends to focus on the topics, rarely on the address. The Junge Union sees itself as the most digital youth organization of all – so it seems to be the assumption that it cannot be due to the communication. At the start of the press conference, JU boss Tilman Kuban presented a survey that had been commissioned. It should show that when it came to voting, it was the issues and not so much the youth organizations that tipped the balance for young people. The environment, education, work and living are important for them. A wink to the parent parties CDU and CSU. There is seldom self-reflection this weekend.
The Junge Union is keen to take a stand and debate
An end to the asymmetrical demobilization: The Merkel method, a lulling of the political dispute through a lack of position, has grown tired of the party youth. She wants clear messages, also on election posters and especially with a view to four years of opposition. The young conservatives want to be distinguishable again.
The displeasure of the Junge Union becomes clear when the general secretaries of the CDU and CSU, Paul Ziemiak and Markus Blume, face the more than 300 delegates. It is a heated discussion, anyway the CDU youth seem to feel decoupled from the party headquarters in many ways – especially with regard to the time shortly before the election, as a JU analysis of the election campaign shows. From the exchange of blows with Ziemiak and Blume, one contribution is particularly impressive; it comes from a delegate from North Rhine-Westphalia.
The young man is interested in Wahl-o-mat, the Union has given a neutral stance on many issues. “We have simply become too arbitrary in our content,” he says, referring to the minimum wage or conventional and ecological agriculture – always with the addition: “The Union: no position.” The hall is raging, and then it doesn’t help that Ziemiak tries to appease, it is often complicated: You can’t always decide between yes and no to these questions. Then JU boss Kuban: “Sometimes it’s nice when we have clear answers.”
After 16 years in the Chancellery, as this weekend in Münster made clear, the Union has a short-term personnel decision ahead of it. For much longer, however, she will have to deal with the question of who she wants to be, what her messages are. It will take one to two years, says Carsten Linnemann, until the core of the brand has been honed.
Everyone wants an end to the “one-man shows”
It started with the rejection of the CSU boss: Markus Söder has no time for Germany Day. The man from Munich was supposed to speak to the delegates directly after Armin Laschet, and a discussion was also planned. But Söder preferred a CSU base event in Upper Franconia. This not only disappoints JU boss Kuban. During the discussion with the general secretaries, CSU-man Blume is confronted directly with Söder’s decision.
You have to know that for a long time the Junge Union was considered the fan club of the Bavarian Prime Minister. But the tensions between him and Laschet, and above all the taunts from Munich, have damaged his reputation among the party youth. In Münster it is said again and again that there should no longer be a “one-man show”. The delegates demand solidarity, the power struggles of the past months are seen as one of the reasons for the historic election defeat. More team, less individual fight – it would have been a difficult visit for Söder.
Nobody feels like piercing
Shortly before the end of Germany Day, a motion is still causing discussions, it is about the “use of digital devices” in meetings of the presidium, the federal board and parliamentary groups. That would then also affect the JU itself, emphasizes Tilman Kuban. Are you asking for a ban? Or do you leave it at a disapproval? The memories of the preliminary soundings for a possible Jamaica government with the FDP and the Greens are fresh. The fact that confidential details leaked out of both conversations also caused displeasure in the ranks of the young conservatives. It then remains with disapproval.
In general, piercing, which has been causing unrest in the CDU and CSU for months, is one of the topics of the weekend. Confidentiality is the key. Even party leader Armin Laschet has had enough of the leaks. He quotes himself that at the last board meeting he said: “Now there is a cell phone ban. As long as I am CDU chairman, this cell phone ban will apply.” The irony of Germany’s Day: Before the weekend, the draft resolution for the JU federal board’s devastating election analysis to the “Bild” newspaper was pierced.