02/24/2025February 24, 2025
CDU executive says ‘no time to waste’ on forming new government
David McAllister — a member of the CDU party executive and the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament — told DW’s chief political editor, Michaela Küfner, that “in these geopolitical times, we simply have no time to waste” on lengthy coalition negotiations.
Asked about where the process of building a stable new government is, McAllister said, “We are now at the beginning of coalition negotiations. We will approach the Social Democrats (SPD) and what we have to do is, as a new government, restore confidence in Germany and also restore confidence in our democracy.”
He said it was important that major centrist parties like the CDU/CSU and SPD band together to fix the nation’s problems and restore trust in their ability to govern, “because the worrying part of last night’s election is definitely that the extremists now have nearly one-third of the votes in Germany.”
“If we solve the problems Germany is facing, then the fringes, who have very simple answers to very complex questions, will lose their business,” said McAllister, “but we have to deliver,” he added.
McAllister said the outgoing and incoming chancellors would coordinate important international decisions during the transition phase.
“Germany is the largest country in the European Union, the strongest economy, and together with France and Poland, we play a crucial role in Europe. And what we need is a German government, which is capable of taking decisions, is capable of action at a national, at a European and at an international level,” he said.
“Friedrich Merz has said, from the first day in office, he will make sure that Germany plays the role we are supposed to play as the largest member state in the European Union, in close cooperation with our partners in Europe.”
When asked when we should expect to see a new government in place, McAllister said: “I can’t tell you how long it will take. [….] But I want to be very clear here. We don’t have any time to lose. And that’s why the sooner we have a new government, the sooner Friedrich Merz is the new Chancellor of Germany. Definitely the better. Not only for Germany, but also for Europe.”
