Union fan and left fright
This is Merz’ Secretary General Mario Czaja
01/23/2022, 11:49 am
The new CDU party leader Friedrich Merz is also reorganizing the leadership of the party. The CDU general secretary is now called Mario Czaja. Who is the man with whom Merz wants to win elections again?
Mario Czaja mentioned his biggest coup right at the beginning of his application speech as CDU general secretary: In the federal elections he had won the direct mandate in the Berlin district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf by a clear margin in the first attempt and thus defeated the left-wing MP Petra Pau, who had ruled the constituency since always won in 2002. Now, as the new general secretary of his party and the newly elected chairman Friedrich Merz, he should also help to fly high.
He asked “for an advance of trust,” said Czaja at the party conference on Saturday. He got the advance – the digital vote showed more than 90 percent approval.
In his somewhat clumsy application speech, Czaja promised to involve the grassroots closely in future decisions. He would like “a CDU that gets involved”, “a party with traction” and with “youthful esprit”. Czaja himself, who at 46 is one of the younger members of the CDU, is probably responsible for the latter.
The qualified insurance salesman and business economist has close ties to his home town of Marzahn-Hellersdorf. In a campaign spot for the federal elections, he called the area on the eastern edge of Berlin, where he grew up and still lives, his “boyfriend”. It was here that Czaja took his first steps as a local politician in the 1990s.
In 1999, at the age of 24, he moved into the Berlin House of Representatives. The Christian Democrat, who maintains a good relationship with left-wing icon Gregor Gysi, won the direct mandate several times. He was uncomfortable with the revelation that he had a title that had been awarded to him by a Swiss educational institution that was not recognized in Germany. Czaja dropped the title and apologized.
Failure in the refugee crisis
In the House of Representatives, Czaja focused in particular on health policy and was temporarily deputy head of the CDU parliamentary group. Finally, in December 2011, the then 36-year-old became Senator for Health and Social Affairs in the red-black coalition under Klaus Wowereit (SPD). Here he was able to record some successes, such as improvements in homeless aid.
However, when a large number of refugees came to Berlin in 2015, a dark hour struck for Czaja. The pictures of numerous new arrivals who had to queue up in the freezing cold at the State Office for Health and Social Affairs (LAGeSo) caused outrage far beyond Berlin.
Even the new governing mayor Michael Müller (SPD) expressed clear criticism of his senator. The city magazine “Tip” named Czaja the “most embarrassing Berliner” in 2015 – he was “the face of official failure”.
Father and Union fan
A year later, black and red ended in Berlin and therefore also Czaja’s government office. He remained a member of the House of Representatives and became managing director of the company Brückenköpfe, a “concept and investment agency in the healthcare sector,” as the self-description says. According to a “Spiegel” report, Czaja lobbied the Federal Ministry of Health in this function for a lavish salary. In November 2020 he gave up the post of managing director.
After Czaja’s outstanding performance in the federal elections, Merz, as a candidate for the CDU presidency, nominated the father of a daughter as general secretary last November. At the post, Czaja will not only have to show quick wit, but also organizational skills. A central task will be the work on the new CDU basic program.
Incidentally, Czaja is honorary president of the Berlin regional association of the German Red Cross. When it comes to soccer, he’s rooting for the East Berlin club 1. FC Union. Czaja’s younger brother Sebastian is also active in politics: the former CDU member is parliamentary group leader and deputy leader of the Berlin FDP.