{
  "id": 13765109,
  "title": "Leadership retreat in Berlin: CDU seeks way out of crisis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/fuhrungsklausur-in-berlin-cdu-sucht-den-weg-aus-der-krise",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-11T17:30:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/fuehrungsklausur-in-berlin-cdu-sucht-den-weg-aus-der-krise/100261284.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "The German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is holding a leadership retreat in Berlin to address its worst crisis in over 80 years, marked by three consecutive state election losses and poll ratings under 20%. The party's secretary-general, Franziska Hoppermann, said the retreat is just the beginning of a process to regain trust and restore the party's strength. The CDU is considering measures to address the cost of living, including a potential cut to the electricity tax, and will discuss its future direction, including whether to take a more conservative stance to win back voters. The party's leader, Friedrich Merz, will hold a press conference on Monday to update on the discussions.",
  "summary": "The CDU is in one of the most severe crises in its history. How can it recover from it? Quick fixes are not in sight.",
  "key_points": [
    "CDU loses three Landtag elections on September 20, support drops below 20%",
    "CDU aims to regain trust, seeks to modernize while lowering living costs and electricity tax"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}