What will happen next for the Union, which in the Bundestag election in September achieved its historically worst second vote result in the Federal Republic of Germany with 24.1 percent?

After the initial shock, the party is still hovering between perplexity and initial reform proposals - also in the Frankfurt district association.

"I don't think there is one silver bullet," says party leader Jan Schneider.

On Saturday, both he and the long-time district chairman Heinz Riesenhuber will travel to a conference in Berlin, to which all 376 German district chairmen have been invited.

Martin Benninghoff

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The crisis meeting is the starting signal for the renewal process that General Secretary Paul Ziemiak has proclaimed on behalf of the Federal Executive Board.

What should come of this is unclear.

One thing is only clear: "We know that more membership is needed," says Ziemiak.

After the election debacle, open and merciless discussions must be held.

It is also certain that the CDU will re-elect its entire federal board.

New federal party congress should tackle the crux of the matter

On November 2nd, the incumbent board of directors under Armin Laschet wants to determine how things will continue: A new federal party congress should then decide on the right course in personnel and procedural issues - and tackle the crux of the matter: How should the basis be specifically included? “That's not an easy question,” says Schneider. The Frankfurt district executive will meet for a special session on Wednesday to agree on a common position for the conference on Saturday.

The Frankfurt CDU has had its painful experiences. When the former parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz won an internal membership survey in January 2021 against Norbert Röttgen and Laschet, this had no further consequences except the feeling of some Merz supporters that they had been cheated. To be fair, it must be added that this membership survey was not representative of the party members. But she revealed a problem that the CDU has been struggling with for a long time: Many want to involve the grassroots more closely, but the CDU is not a grassroots party. According to the statute, the 1000 delegates of the federal party congress elect the board and the chairman. If you want to change that, you first have to change the “constitution” - at a federal party congress.

Does the CDU want that?

The signals are indifferent: The former Hessian Prime Minister Roland Koch has made a guest contribution in the FAZ: "The CDU will not be a grassroots party." Although he wants to overcome the distance between committees and members and increase participation, on the other hand, he analyzes from his own experience : “Skipping the basis, that can go well.” But then you have to be successful, otherwise there will be consequences, such as the pressure to better involve the members.

Mixed feelings

During these days, the example of the SPD can often be heard, which their top duo Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans brought into office in 2019 through a member survey carried out by the Young Socialists. At Schneider, the comparison leaves mixed feelings: He reminds us that the likely next Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, failed this survey. “It was evidently the opinion that Scholz couldn't do it,” says Schneider.

But the CDU is not looking first for a candidate for chancellor, says Schneider, but for someone at the top who can “rebuild and rebuild the party” - and who is helpful in transitioning to the opposition.

“It's not an easy change, I notice it on a small scale here in Frankfurt, too,” says Schneider.

Here, too, the CDU had to join the opposition after losing the local elections.

In this respect, the comparison with the SPD fits: its new leadership has at least succeeded in pacifying the chronically divided party so that it was able to win another important election.