CDU wants to leave the opposition in the 2024 state elections
The CDU is aiming to take over the government in the Thuringian state elections in 2024. "This will be the last Christmas we celebrate in opposition," said party and parliamentary group leader Mario Voigt at a state party conference in Mühlhausen on Saturday. The CDU had provided the state premiers in Thuringia from reunification until the red-red-green coalition came to power in 2014. Since then, the party has sat on the opposition bench in parliament in Erfurt. A new state parliament is expected to be elected on September 1, 2024.
The CDU wants to make life easier for people in Thuringia again, said Voigt. Under the red-red-green government of Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left Party), "nothing has gotten better, but a lot has gotten worse".
Voigt, who was nominated as the top candidate for the state elections at the party conference, announced changes to migration policy, among other things, with the CDU in government. People in need would continue to be helped, "but those who are in Thuringia illegally must be repatriated". The CDU would set up a repatriation center and introduce benefits in kind instead of cash benefits for refugees.
He also focused on social policy. Poverty is not fought with the welfare state, "poverty is fought with work", said Voigt. The CDU stands for ensuring that those who work have more money in their pockets than those who do not. Voigt also spoke out against gender stereotyping in the public sector and in schools. "People should write according to the rules of German spelling."
In addition to the state elections, local elections and the European elections are also due in Thuringia in 2024.
The CDU's goal to shift from the opposition in the 2024 state elections aligns with their ambition to regain the government seat in Thuringia, a position they held from reunification until 2014. Voigt, the CDU's leader, stated that they aim to make life better for people in Thuringia by taking over the government, criticizing the red-red-green coalition for failing to improve conditions.
Source: www.dpa.com
