Junge Union: Winkel mit bisher bestem Ergebnis als JU-Chef bestätigt

Johannes Winkel, a CDU Bundestag member and the leader of the Jungen Union, has been confirmed to have achieved his best electoral result thus far as the JU's head. At the governing party's Germany Day in Bonn, he received 265 out of 282 valid votes. Sixteen delegates voted against him, while two abstained. Excluding the abstentions, which are not counted in the same way as in other parties, Winkel achieved 94.6% approval.

In 2024, Winkel obtained 90.5% of the delegates' votes. His first election in November 2022 saw 87.0% of the delegates' votes. Speaking at the Germany Day, Winkel highlighted the seriousness of the Union's situation, which has fallen below 20% following three disastrous state elections and poll results, citing the need for confidence and self-assurance.

He emphasized that "our generation has to do something great with this Union" and that they would be the ones to write successful history for the CDU and CSU's people's party. Winkel clearly distanced himself from the AfD, stating that as long as they adopt "völkisch positions" and bring in extremists, they would not work with that party, emphasizing it as a matter of character rather than poll numbers.

The Jungen Union, with around 90,000 members, asserts itself as the largest political youth association in Germany and Europe, and Winkel emphasized the group's independence during the opening of the Germany Day. Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz's appearance on Saturday is eagerly anticipated, as he faced significant tension with delegates last year over the pension reform.