Friedrich Merz, the favourite to become Germany’s next chancellor, said on Monday he is ready to “lead Germany forward” as his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) assembled in Berlin for a party conference three weeks before national elections.
“We are ready to lead Germany forward again,” said Merz, pledging to “get to work without delay and tackle the root causes of the problems that have paralysed [Germany] for so long.”
Merz said his CDU/CSU alliance, which is leading in the polls for the vote on February 23 on around 30%, has a “Plan for Germany.”
The 69-year-old received thunderous applause from delegates, who are set to agree on an “immediate action programme” at the conference, including measures on reforming migration laws and boosting Germany’s struggling economy.
Merz’s party has received huge criticism in recent days after passing a motion in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, with votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Critics accuse Merz of breaking the long-standing “firewall” preventing cooperation with the AfD, after his non-binding plan to tackle illegal migration secured a narrow majority in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, on Wednesday thanks to the far-right party’s support.
Protests against Merz’s move have broken out across Germany, with organizers claiming up to 250,000 in attendance at a major march in Berlin on Sunday.
Further demonstrations took place on Monday outside the CDU’s conference centre in western Berlin, with police reporting some 450 protestors.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz also attacked the CDU/CSU on Monday, arguing that the centre-right bloc has failed to agree to legislation reforming asylum laws and granting security services additional powers.
The CDU/CSU is “endangering internal security,” Scholz said in Brussels at a summit of EU leaders.
“These laws restricting illegal migration and improving internal security must be approved before the election,” he added.
CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann rejected the criticism in a speech to delegates, arguing that Scholz’s coalition was “the worst federal government of all time.”
“We do not let anyone tell us who was on the right side of history. It was us,” Linnemann added.
Friedrich Merz, CDU candidate for chancellor and CDU federal chairman, pictured at the 37th federal party conference of the CDU. The CDU wants to adopt an “immediate program” at the party conference, which is to be implemented immediately after the Bundestag elections when a government is formed. Michael Kappeler/dpa
