Merz defends unity and pensions at CDA conference amid protests
Friedrich Merz receives his first real applause for something he claims has always been clear. "There will be no pension cuts under us," he declares to the audience at the CDA federal conference in Marburg. This weekend, the CDU's labor wing is also celebrating its 80th anniversary under the banner "80 Years of the Social Market Economy"âwith a capital S. And today, Merz, who has often been accused of social coldness, is meant to embody that S.
Outside the venue, the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) and the United Services Union (ver.di) have set up stands early in the morning. Between the trees, a banner reads: "Hands off the eight-hour workday." From the large glass front of the coffee bar, CDA delegates have a clear view of it. Merz's appearance here is eagerly anticipated. Just this Monday, at a banking association event, he suggested that pensions might in the future only provide "basic income security in old age." CDA chairman Dennis Radtke had already responded to Merz's remarks before the conference, urging the chancellor to stop "scaring people" and "further unsettling citizens," as he told the newspapers of Germany's RND media network. Radtke and Merz are seen as opposites within the party. Radtke, an industrial clerk from Bochum with social democratic roots, stands in stark contrast to Merz, the former supervisory board chairman of BlackRock's German subsidiary and a close ally of the party's business-friendly Middle-Class and Economic Union (MIT).
During his speech, Merz visibly strives to make a good impression on the assembled delegates. He repeatedly invokes the "social market economy," though the applause remains brief, almost wary. Among the audience are leading union figures like DGB head Yasmin Fahimi and Michael Vassiliadis, chairman of the Mining, Chemical, and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE). Merz emphasizes that Germany needs reforms, "but with moderation and balance." The pension commission, convened at the start of the year, is set to present its reform recommendations on June 30, aiming for long-term solutions. Yet the war in Iran and soaring energy prices are already worsening the situation. Merz calls for "unity" within the Union. A delegate from Duisburg crosses his arms and mutters, "Try telling that to the MIT."
The economically liberal MIT holds more influence in the current government than the CDA, which Merz sidelined during both coalition negotiations and cabinet appointments in labor, social affairs, and economic policy. At the time, Radtke told SĂźddeutsche Zeitung that he felt "ignored" and that the cabinet would not win back "ordinary people"âit came across as "cold-hearted and unsocial." Meanwhile, the party's free-market faction continues to spark controversy: the CDU-affiliated Federation of German Industries (BDI) proposed that dental bills should be paid out of pocket, while CDU lawmaker and federal drug commissioner Hendrik Streeck questioned whether elderly patients should always receive the most expensive medications. The MIT even drafted a party conference motion rejecting "lifestyle part-time work."
The delegate from Duisburg barely claps during Merz's speech. Later, he jokes that it might be due to his injury, pointing to the bandage on his right hand. Only occasionally does he tap the table with his good handâsuch as when Merz quotes Konrad Adenauer: "The economy should serve the people, not the other way around." Or when Merz declares that the far-right AfD "will never be entrusted with responsibility for Germany." Another delegate later takes the stage to say, "The words were comforting." But as the hall rises to give Merz a standing ovation, the man from Duisburg remains seated. He finds the speech insufficiently focused on people's concerns. He would have liked more on care and housingâafter all, the Union has policies to offer there too.
After Merz's speech and the lunch break, Dennis Radtke takes the floor. "Germany has shifted from a merit-based society to an inheritance-based one," he declares from the stage, drawing applause from the entire hall. The CDA's core motion calls for, among other things, a reform of inheritance tax. Radtke also expresses gratitude to Merz for reiterating that there will be no pension cuts. He acknowledges that the party has unnecessarily exposed itself to criticism in the pastâsuch as in the debate over longer working hours. If the public gets the impression that "many people just can't be bothered and won't get off the couch," he warns, that would be disastrous. Even when parts of the party demand a return to "CDU-pur" orthodoxy, "it makes my hair stand on end," he says. Becoming ever more conservative, he argues, is not the answer.
Following Radtke's remarks, a delegate from Duisburg takes the stage. Radtke is then re-elected as federal chairman of the CDA with 87 percent of the valid votes.
