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Sunday could have been day of reckoning with Angela Merkel for CDU. In evening, party board met in Berlin to look for reasons why Union had achieved its worst election result since 1949 in last Bundestag election. But it wasn’t that bad for Chancellor.
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Although participants discussed election outcome for almost four hours, it was quite “critical and constructive”, as was to be heard afterwards. A lot of frustration was left out, which had been accumulated since election campaign. It was pointed out, for example, that poor election result was not a slip-up for CDU: in eleven of last 13 Landtag elections, one did not get over 33.5 per cent, criticized one of participants. However, it did not come to a settlement with Merkel personally.
This may also have been due to fact that CDU leader was quite self-critical: union did not succeed in responding appropriately to growing importance of refugee policy in final phase of electoral campaign, she said according to participants. She also acknowledged that dispute with CSU had been counter-productive. It would have been better to clean it up before election.
No euphoria
The debate on outcome of election has refore brought Merkel behind it. More importantly, however, it is likely that board and Presidium were also agreed that a new large coalition of a minority government or elections would be preferable. There would be euphoria with a view to a new grand coalition, but certainly not in CDU, it was said afterwards. Merkel critics like Jens Spahn, who had recently put a minority government as an alternative in interviews, were, however, clearly at odds.
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Merkel herself sees chances of a grand coalition coming about, apparently acting optimistically. In addition to differences, re would also be a whole series of intersections, she stressed after committee meetings on Monday. Specifically, it called for strengning of families and relief of small and medium-sized income. “We are not in favour of citizen insurance,” she rejected one of central demands of SPD. However, it added that Union was quite prepared to make a change to ‘ structural deficiencies in health system ‘.
Merkel also talked about Europe for a longer time. Unlike CSU country group chief Alexander Dobrindt, who in morning had clearly rejected demand of SPD chief Martin Schulz to set up United States of Europe until 2025, Merkel did not even respond to this goal. However, it called for a multitude of fields, ranging from economic and monetary union to a common defence and foreign policy, to dealing with political Islam, on which y consider greater European cooperation to be useful and necessary. There are likely to be approaches to a common European policy with SPD.
The CDU board of Management has now also set up a pensions commission, which is expected to make a furr development of pension system. Among or things, Solidarrente desired by SPD should be discussed, which should allow long-term insured people to have a pension level above basic security.
Fear for profile
The fact that Merkel is still facing tough negotiations in coming weeks, however, lies not only in SPD, which this time has very little desire for a large coalition. It’s also up to your own people. After all, y are also afraid to lose ir profile in a renewed grand coalition – and set standard for success accordingly.
Under no circumstances should a new grand coalition be “a remake” of old, said CSU country group chief Dobrindt. A patchwork coalition like last time, in which different favourite projects of Coalition would simply be added, one could not afford this time. Instead, a new grand coalition must be able to say clearly in which direction it wants to move Germany forward. The SPD must understand that majority in grand coalition is a bourgeois, said Dobrindt ever in direction of potential new, old coalition partner.
