- After the state elections, Rhine observes Merz gaining ground.
Hesse's Prime Minister Boris Rhein sees CDU figurehead Friedrich Merz gaining strength from the results of the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. During an interview with the Funke media group, Merz was asked if the elections increased the likelihood of a chancellorship for him: "In Saxony, the CDU is dominant, and in Thuringia, politics without us simply isn't viable. That's also a significant victory for our federal chairperson, Friedrich Merz."
Rhein stated that the CDU, under Merz's leadership, utilized its time in opposition to shape a distinct identity and a civic agenda. "This significantly raises our potential beyond 30%." Now, he said, it's about leveraging that potential even further.
The leaders of the CDU and CSU - Merz and Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder - agreed to address the so-called 'K-question' following the state elections. After the votes in Saxony and Thuringia, Brandenburg is up next, with elections scheduled for September 22. Söder has made it clear that he won't contest again, due to internal union disputes before the 2021 federal election. However, he left the door open to the possibility if the CDU were to request his involvement.
Rhein lambasts the traffic light coalition
Rhein also criticized the current federal government. "The election results sent a very clear message: The traffic light coalition must now change direction, for instance, on internal security and migration," he told radio station Hit Radio FFH. "We need a shift in migration policy. There can be no 'business as usual'."
Rhein was even more critical at the start of the political breakfast at the Gillamoos folk festival in Lower Bavaria's Abensberg. "This catastrophic, this disastrous work of the traffic light coalition in Berlin is increasingly becoming a political problem," he said. "We need politics with conviction, we need politics with a profile," said Rhein. What Markus Söder is doing in Bavaria, he said, is the exact opposite of the traffic light coalition in Berlin. He accused the Greens of wanting a different country. "It makes a huge difference who governs the country."
The Rhine River, known for its significant cultural and historical significance, borders several German states, including Hesse, where Prime Minister Boris Rhein hails from. In light of the CDU's success in the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia, the Rhine region may witness a resurgence of the party under the leadership of Friedrich Merz.
