Partei in der Krise: CDU-Führung berät über Konsequenzen aus Wahl-Debakel

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) finds itself in a crisis following three lost Landtag elections, with voter support below 20 percent and Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz under intense scrutiny. The CDU's party leadership convened on Sunday and Monday to discuss ways to overcome the party's deepest crisis in recent history.

The meeting, which began at 1 p.m. on Sunday, was called after the party's defeat in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for the first time in Landtag elections. Chancellor Merz commented on the results of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Landtag election on September 20, describing it as a "disaster" before the results were even clear. The CDU lost to the left-wing party, which formed a government with the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens.

In Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU lost nearly 20 percentage points two weeks earlier, prompting AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund to run for the position of Minister-President in December. Nationally, the CDU has suffered its lowest support in over 17 months since the formation of the black-white federal government in early 2025, dropping below 20 percent in multiple polls.

The CDU's leadership will primarily discuss content-related consequences of the elections and what additional measures are needed to address the concerns of ordinary citizens, such as living costs, security, migration, and job creation. Thuringian Prime Minister Mario Voigt explicitly called for a reduction in living costs and a decrease in living expenses.

Questions remain about whether the CDU needs to become more conservative to regain support, or if it should maintain its current stance. The brand wall against the AfD and the left is also under scrutiny, and the outcome of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin may put increasing pressure on the black-red coalition.