The chairman of the Union parliamentary group, Ralph Brinkhaus, wants to bring the Union back to its full potential.

"We as a Union must never be dependent on one face again," he said on Sunday at the Junge Union's Germany Day in Münster.

He sees the Union as an "organization with incredible potential".

Tobias Schrörs

Political Editor.

  • Follow I follow

He distinguished himself from the statement that the Union was a "restructuring case".

That was what Friedrich Merz said at the meeting of the joint CDU and CSU youth organization.

Brinkhaus outlined the breadth of the Union by referring to the Women's Union, the SME Association and the Christian Democratic Workers' Union (CDA).

Not everything should focus on one person, said Brinkhaus again.

"This team must also be visible." If a group is locked out, "then it is no longer our union".

Brinkhaus recalled the common set of values ​​and first and foremost mentioned the Christian image of man.

No "against-opposition"

Brinkhaus declared that he wanted to be “a creative opposition”, not a “against-opposition” for the next four years. To do this, the Union must work differently than in the past. “Working differently means that we naturally have to allow more debate,” some in the government find that tiring, they don't find it tiring, they find it enriching. "There is too much hierarchy for me and there is too much silo for me," he said. The point is to quickly carry good ideas upwards from below.

In his speech he also paid tribute to the services of Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel.

The Union had lost an election, but it should not lose its pride for what it had achieved.

He praised Armin Laschet for his appearance at Germany Day on Saturday, when he faced the discussion with the delegates and said that he was responsible for the Union's election results.

“He didn't duck away,” said Brinkhaus.

The CSU chairman Markus Söder had canceled his participation in the meeting of the Junge Union at short notice.

Looking forward

Brinkhaus looked ahead and asked: “How do we get back into this Federal Chancellery?” He also called for a “new culture of solidarity and loyalty” in the Union.

These are conservative properties.

The SPD had stood “like a block” in the past few months, which contributed to the fact that “this SPD was successful without content”.

Brinkhaus sharply criticized the exploratory paper by the SPD, Greens and FDP.

“This is the tightest left agenda we've had for decades.” The paper is a “social make a wish”.

The political opponent is not “in our ranks”, but “in the traffic light coalition”.