The Junge Union wants to sharpen its profile this weekend in Fulda and act as a “fit maker for the Union” in the future. At the start, the newcomers to the party elect Johannes Winkel as chairman, who takes over from Tilman Kuban.
The Junge Union (JU) has a new chairman: the youth organization of the CDU and CSU will in future be led by the 30-year-old lawyer Johannes Winkel. The previous JU chief of North Rhine-Westphalia received 260 of 305 votes cast at the Deutschlandtag of the Junge Union in Fulda. He was the only applicant for the post. The previous incumbent, Tilman Kuban, did not appear after three and a half years. The 35-year-old has reached the JU age limit. He was greeted with a standing ovation.
In his speech, Winkel warned against de-industrialization in Germany. “Let’s fight with all our might to preserve industry, production and innovation in Germany,” he said. The Union should be the first party to make Germany a climate-neutral industrial country. At the same time, Winkel attacked the activists of the “last generation” who would have damaged the social acceptance of climate protection.
At the start of the three-day meeting, Kuban said that the CDU had to learn to walk again. “At the last Germany Day in Münster last year, we made it very clear what we expect from this party: that we don’t want to be the ones who see the CDU going into decline, but that we want to be the ones who make the Union fit. ” Now it is important to make this clear with key content, emphasized Kuban.
In Fulda, this included the Russian war of aggression against the Ukraine. Young people in Ukraine have to stand at the front every night instead of going to university or work during the day, Kuban said. The political focus should be kept on those who are fighting for freedom in Europe, for peace and democracy in Ukraine.
As a guest at the event, the Ambassador of Ukraine, Oleksii Makeiev, thanked Germany for the support and solidarity. He feels that the hearts in Germany are also beating blue and yellow. A lot had been done by the German government since the beginning of the war. He referred to the arms deliveries. Despite the anti-aircraft defenses supplied by Germany, many Russian missiles would reach their targets, resulting in civilian casualties and a failure of critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Cities and villages sometimes had no electricity, no water and no heating for days.
But Makeiev emphasized: “Every goal makes life more difficult for us, but every goal confirms our will to win.” The aim is to rebuild Ukraine, to modernize it and to be part of the European family as a member of the EU and NATO, the ambassador explained and indirectly appealed for further arms deliveries from Germany.
In the dispute over citizen income, the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister and CDU chairman Hendrik Wüst rejected “fake news” allegations by traffic light politicians. “Anyone who tries to silence the opposition in the center risks damaging public discourse and democracy,” Wüst said at Germany Day.
He accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz of too hesitant policies, not only when it came to aid for Ukraine. This crisis “needs clarity, not hesitation and procrastination. This crisis also needs cohesion.” But there is always a fight at the traffic light. The fact that Scholz had to make use of his policy competence in the dispute over longer operating times for nuclear power plants shows how “overwhelmed” the traffic light coalition is. “It’s war in Europe, stop arguing,” said Wüst.
Kuban named Iran policy as a further focus of the JU meeting. He demanded that the federal government should send stronger signals of support for the freedom movement in the Islamic Republic. This Saturday, the delegates also want to discuss a key motion on foreign and security policy. The aim is to make it clear that the Bundeswehr belongs in the middle of society and that soldiers need much more appreciation, said Kuban.
With a view to the next federal election, Kuban said that the youth organization of the CDU and CSU wanted to campaign together for an orderly process to determine the next Union candidate for chancellor. He hopes that his successor will continue to push this issue, because “such chaos as last time” shouldn’t happen again in the next federal election.