Federal Government | Double pressure on the coalition

Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (r.) are both under pressure in their parties. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Friedrich Merz faces another difficult appointment on Tuesday. In the afternoon, the Federal Chancellor and CDU chairman will meet with the Union faction. The 208 MPs are discussing the consequences of the recent election defeats - and inevitably also about what should happen next for the CDU and its leader.

But despite the growing discontent in parts of the party, there are no signs of the faction's open departure from Merz before the meeting. The parliamentary director of the Union faction, Catarina Dos Santos-Wintz, is expecting a lively discussion. “Of course there is also frustration,” she said, referring to the election results. However, according to her, Merz still has “the full backing of the Union faction.”

At the same time, Dos Santos-Wintz admitted that the Union could not sugarcoat its situation: If a popular party in a federal state fails at the five percent hurdle, it would be "disastrous." The Union is “just not good enough” and needs to get better. CSU regional group leader Alexander Hoffmann also stated that his party was not conducting a personnel debate about the Chancellor. The CSU is the “anchor of stability in this coalition,” he said.

The personnel debate, which Merz tried to capture immediately after the polls closed, is not over, although the Chancellor emphasized that “neither yesterday evening nor this morning was there any personnel question from anyone, let alone a personnel debate. From no one." However, Günter Krings, an influential CDU politician, has expressly spoken out in favor of at least not ruling out a separation of the chancellorship and party leadership. “There should be no taboos,” said the chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalia CDU state group. At the same time, Krings warned against getting lost in an escalating personnel debate.

Criticism also comes again from Brandenburg's CDU stronghold, Großbeeren near Berlin. Local chairman Adrian Hepp said there would currently be no demand for his resignation. However, a separation of party leadership and the Chancellery would be a “viable path”. At the same time, Hepp warns that the CDU will be politically crushed in the coalition with the SPD.

This means that Merz is still not being met with any open, organized demands from the federal party. At the same time, the question of his dual role as chancellor and party leader is increasingly becoming a legitimate subject of discussion within the party. Just a week ago, the eight CDU prime ministers had expressly warned against personnel debates and supported Merz.

North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst reiterated this line on Monday evening. The personnel debates are not productive, said the CDU politician at the Ständehaus meeting of the “Rheinische Post”. The joint statement by the eight prime ministers was, above all, a rejection of considerations of a minority government. Germany needs a stable federal government.

Wüst, who is himself considered a possible successor to Merz, also stated that he wanted to remain Prime Minister in North Rhine-Westphalia. However, when asked whether he wanted to remain prime minister forever, he replied: "As long as he can."

Unlike Wüst, other CDU state politicians are intensifying the criticism of the content. Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer is calling for a ruthless analysis and a new start. “It also has something to do with people,” he said. Thuringia's Prime Minister Mario Voigt speaks of a historical turning point and calls for a "general inventory of Berlin government policy."

CSU boss Markus Söder also voiced criticism: "Reforms, yes - but you have to be in an empathetic process with your people and not govern against your people." Söder also warned: "It's slowly about the existence of the Union as a people's party." Despite the harsh criticism, he added: "That's why solidarity is now required and also showing that you have understood politics, that you will change something and not just say we communicate better in the sense that it has to sound better."

For Merz, the parliamentary group meeting is about more than a discussion about the election results. He must convince his MPs that his reform course can be continued despite the headwinds. Dos Santos-Wintz emphasized that the Union must implement the planned reforms despite the “headwind”.

The Union is also concerned with the parliamentary situation. The group cannot deal with its majority as if it were automatically secured every day, said Dos Santos-Wintz. The Union only has a twelve-vote lead, but is confident that it can continue to obtain the necessary majorities in the Bundestag.

While the CDU is dealing with the question of how it should react to the election defeats, the leadership of its coalition partner is now also coming under significantly greater pressure. What is particularly noteworthy is that criticism no longer comes only from individual local associations or the party base.

Juso boss Philipp Türmer openly attacked SPD chairmen Lars Klingbeil and Bärbel Bas. Türmer said he didn't want to say that the two were the SPD's problems - "but at the moment they are not part of the solution either." The party needs orientation and a strategy again.

Klingbeil in particular must be measured by the fact that he has been party chairman for five years without having organized the resurgence of social democracy. The SPD has no more time to lose, said Türmer. The party leadership must now move forward.

The criticism from North Rhine-Westphalia goes even further. Markus Töns, spokesman for the SPD member of the Bundestag from the Ruhr area, calls for a separation of party and ministerial office. Bas and Klingbeil, as members of the federal government, cannot simultaneously guarantee sufficient political party leadership, argues Töns. Ministers are bound to cabinet discipline. It is easier to criticize the Chancellor and the Union from within the party. Töns is therefore calling for “real consequences” from the election results and changes to the reforms.

Hubertus Heil also joins the debate. The former Federal Labor Minister is calling for the SPD to have a stronger profile and points to Manuela Schwesig as an example. In the ARD program “Maischberger,” Heil explained with regard to Schwesig that things can be changed “if you have credible people, if you are clear about the matter and if you are also identifiable.”

The SPD needs to be more clearly recognizable again, says Heil. He has heard people ask: “Where has my party gone?” The Social Democrats must therefore show more clearly what they stand for.

Heil's statements are also relevant because he had previously signaled his willingness to take on responsibility in the party leadership. Heil explained to the “Stern”: “I will get involved wherever I am needed.” The SPD “is ​​not an end in itself and is not private property and no one has a right to any position.”

At the same time, there are voices in the SPD who insist on stability. Saarland's Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger expressly supported Bas and Klingbeil. For her, both continue to be anchors of stability for the federal government. She herself wants to concentrate on the state elections in Saarland and not be available for party leadership.

The deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Siemtje Möller also reiterated her support for the coalition on Tuesday. "The Chancellor has been elected, including with the votes of the SPD," she said. Your party approved the coalition agreement with a large majority. They stand “very clearly in favor of a federal government that is led by the Union.” The government should work successfully until the end of the legislative period.

Both the CDU/CSU and the SPD seem to have learned at least one common lesson from the election defeats. You have to take care of the issue of affordability. The model is probably the left, which has made affordability its main issue for some time and has caused a political sensation in the country with a rent campaign in Berlin and the brilliant election victory. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schwesig had also put pressure on the AfD with his own social policy profile and at the same time distanced himself from parts of the federal government's reform policy.

This reorientation has already taken concrete form within the SPD. The Presidium decided on Monday to place the cost of living more at the center of its political work in the future. “Prices in our country have been rising for years,” it says in the decision paper. The question of affordability should therefore become the focus.

The SPD is also trying to put more emphasis on social security when it comes to pensions. Although she is committed to the pension commission's proposals, she also emphasizes that the lifetime performance of those who have been insured for a long time must continue to make a difference in the future. This is particularly aimed at the debate about the pension without deductions after 45 years of contributions.

The resolution contains a balancing act: the SPD expressly sticks to the black-red coalition, but at the same time declares that there can be no simple “business as usual”. The party wants to develop a new orientation framework for its government work and its role in the coalition. A party convention is scheduled to discuss this in December.

The question of affordability is also being given greater emphasis in the Union following the election results. Mario Voigt points out the high costs of everyday life. Kretschmer calls for cheaper energy prices and better conditions for investments and construction. Interestingly, it is particularly the right wing of the Union, the East German state associations, that are in favor of more social policies.

The fact that the Union and the SPD are now talking more about affordability is a striking reaction to the two election evenings. However, it is still unclear whether this will actually lead to a change in government policy. Particularly in the Union, ideas about reforms and social security continue to be in tension.

For the black-red federal government, the development means that pressure from both sides is growing. Merz has to convince his own party that his reform course can be continued despite the election results, while some of his harshest critics demand a weakening of the reforms and the other part calls for these reforms to be made more acute and an escalation against the SPD. At the same time, the SPD is demanding changes to the reform course, as its party leaders are also under increasing pressure.

The problem is that stability and political reorientation are now required at the same time. Both parties must also explain to their respective supporters why they are sticking with the coalition despite the election results. With agencies.

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