- CDU wants to ban gender in post-election administration immediately
If the CDU in Thuringia were to lead the state government after the election on September 1, the party plans to ban the use of gender-neutral language in schools and public administration. Andreas Bühl, chairman of the Thuringian CDU program commission, announced this at the presentation of a 100-day government program in Erfurt. The corresponding paper states that the rules of German orthography must be followed.
Gender-neutral language has long been a contentious issue in Germany and Thuringia. Other parties, such as the BSW, also oppose the use of certain word constructions that simultaneously address men and women, as well as people who do not identify as male or female. Instead of using "readers," for example, gender-neutral language uses terms like "readers:innen" or "readers*".
Among other points, the Thuringian CDU plans to introduce a job guarantee for teaching graduates from Thuringian universities within 100 days of taking office, according to CDU state chairman and lead candidate Mario Voigt. The party also wants to make master craft training free of charge in the state.
Furthermore, the party plans to initiate measures in the Bundesrat to make overtime tax-free and replace the citizen's income with a basic security. This is intended to ensure that effort is rewarded again, Voigt said.
Ex-constitutional court judge in Voigt's team
Since several of the union's central projects, such as plans for tax relief, can only be implemented in cooperation with the federal government, the CDU has recruited former federal constitutional court judge Peter Michael Huber to its competence team. This ensures that what the CDU promises can also be implemented. "We want to make it watertight from a constitutional law perspective," says Voigt. Huber was a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court from 2010 to 2023.
In the lead-up to the election of the regional parliament in Thuringia, the CDU has proposed a campaign that includes banning the use of gender-neutral language in schools and public administration if they gain power. Despite the CDU's stance, other parties, like the BSW, have also raised concerns about certain gender-neutral language constructions, advocating for terms like "readers:innen" or "readers*" instead.
