‘Mutti Merkel has been our life, but the time is right for her to go’
Young CDU members are excited by a fresh start in Germany once the only leader they have known stands down
It started as just another humdrum Monday morning for Endrik Schulze.
The 18-year-old law student was moving between lectures at Berlin’s
Humboldt University when his phone began to buzz with messages. He
couldn’t believe his eyes.
Rumours were swirling that Angela Merkel would not stand for re-election as chair of the Christian Democrats (CDU) – a post she had held since Schulze was a baby. Merkel’s world, the only one Schulze had ever known, was crumbling.
“It was a big surprise, a political earthquake,” says Schulze, who heads the Berlin chapter of the youngest section of the CDU youth wing, the Schüler Union. “It was clear the Merkel era was coming to an end and that it was a historic day.”
Schulze and his young party colleagues plunged into a fervent debate on WhatsApp over what Merkel’s departure meant for the CDU, for her government, for Germany and for Europe. The collective shock quickly gave way to relief.
“We all felt it was the right time,” says Schulze. “We were deeply grateful for everything Merkel had achieved in the past 18 years. But we were glad something was moving, that finally the renewal we’d all been waiting for could begin. Then there was uncertainty: what will happen now?
Schulze, who was five when Merkel became chancellor in 2005, says: “Merkel was the face of the CDU my whole life. This was the first time that old, stale world view had collapsed. Politics isn’t supposed to be static – it should be dynamic. We were all tired of the same face.”
With Merkel on the way out, says Schulze, young party members suddenly feel that there is space to breathe. For as long as they could remember, Merkel would be pondering quietly in the background of every discussion, making her mind up. Then she would speak out and the debate would be over.
“There’s a reason she earned the nickname Mutti,” says Schulze. “It was like the whole of Germany was a family sitting at the dinner table discussing something, everyone with a different view. But when Mutti banged on the table and says that’s enough, then it was all over. That was her power.”
For many of Schulze’s fellow party members, Merkel’s ability to shut down opponents was both a blessing and a curse.
“Merkel is a strong woman who has held her ground in a man’s world,” says Martha Nowakowski, 20, a law student in Hamburg who joined the CDU in 2015. “But I didn’t like the resistance whenever important things were rightly criticised.”
Merkel’s departure sparks hope of a fresh start, free of her controversial migration policy, says Nowakowski. While the young members interviewed by the Observer wholeheartedly agreed with Merkel’s initial humanitarian decision to offer shelter to refugees, they resented the resulting chaos and division that followed. A renewal, they hoped, could deflate the sails of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
“The CDU needs a chair who doesn’t polarise so much,” says Nowakowski. “Lots of people didn’t like the migration policy Merkel embodies. That’s why I hope the AfD problem is now more or less dealt with. They don’t have much of a platform beyond ‘Merkel must go’.”
“Merkel took the right decision,” agrees Finn Wandhoff, 18, who chairs the Schüler Union. “With her departure a central enemy of the rightwing populists has gone. That will help [the CDU] win back disillusioned voters.” To do this, the party should learn from the resurgent Greens and “radiate positivity and optimism”.
And the best way to do that? A new face at the top. Young members have tentatively pinned their hopes on Merkel’s old rival, Friedrich Merz, a near-mythical name they’ve heard whispered reverently in CDU circles for years. They are too young to remember Merz from his previous political career – he quit the Bundestag 10 years ago – but Schulze says he “spoke to his soul” with his call for “change and renewal, but not revolution,” at his press conference last week. Above all, they think, Merz would represent a return to traditional conservatism after years of Merkel pulling the party to the centre.
One thing is clear: the generation who grew up under Merkel don’t want more of the same, and they say that would be guaranteed with Merkel’s preferred successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. And despite 38-year-old health minister Jens Spahn’s best efforts to sell himself as fresh and exciting, the feeling among younger members is that he’s too inexperienced and divisive a figure.
Generation Merkel’s biggest fear is that the CDU will struggle to hold together without her. But the opportunities of her departure outweigh the risks. Germany’s youngest conservatives are now looking to Merkel’s successor for bold solutions on migration, digitalisation and education. They’re hoping for a shift in style that will bring young people like them on board.
“I’d love to see the party rejuvenate,” says CDU youth member Saskia Boehm, 19, from Brandenburg. “We have to reshape it to fit the political zeitgeist and speak to disillusioned younger voters. Business as usual just isn’t appropriate any more.”
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Rumours were swirling that Angela Merkel would not stand for re-election as chair of the Christian Democrats (CDU) – a post she had held since Schulze was a baby. Merkel’s world, the only one Schulze had ever known, was crumbling.
“It was a big surprise, a political earthquake,” says Schulze, who heads the Berlin chapter of the youngest section of the CDU youth wing, the Schüler Union. “It was clear the Merkel era was coming to an end and that it was a historic day.”
Schulze and his young party colleagues plunged into a fervent debate on WhatsApp over what Merkel’s departure meant for the CDU, for her government, for Germany and for Europe. The collective shock quickly gave way to relief.
“We all felt it was the right time,” says Schulze. “We were deeply grateful for everything Merkel had achieved in the past 18 years. But we were glad something was moving, that finally the renewal we’d all been waiting for could begin. Then there was uncertainty: what will happen now?
Schulze, who was five when Merkel became chancellor in 2005, says: “Merkel was the face of the CDU my whole life. This was the first time that old, stale world view had collapsed. Politics isn’t supposed to be static – it should be dynamic. We were all tired of the same face.”
With Merkel on the way out, says Schulze, young party members suddenly feel that there is space to breathe. For as long as they could remember, Merkel would be pondering quietly in the background of every discussion, making her mind up. Then she would speak out and the debate would be over.
“There’s a reason she earned the nickname Mutti,” says Schulze. “It was like the whole of Germany was a family sitting at the dinner table discussing something, everyone with a different view. But when Mutti banged on the table and says that’s enough, then it was all over. That was her power.”
For many of Schulze’s fellow party members, Merkel’s ability to shut down opponents was both a blessing and a curse.
“Merkel is a strong woman who has held her ground in a man’s world,” says Martha Nowakowski, 20, a law student in Hamburg who joined the CDU in 2015. “But I didn’t like the resistance whenever important things were rightly criticised.”
Merkel’s departure sparks hope of a fresh start, free of her controversial migration policy, says Nowakowski. While the young members interviewed by the Observer wholeheartedly agreed with Merkel’s initial humanitarian decision to offer shelter to refugees, they resented the resulting chaos and division that followed. A renewal, they hoped, could deflate the sails of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
“The CDU needs a chair who doesn’t polarise so much,” says Nowakowski. “Lots of people didn’t like the migration policy Merkel embodies. That’s why I hope the AfD problem is now more or less dealt with. They don’t have much of a platform beyond ‘Merkel must go’.”
“Merkel took the right decision,” agrees Finn Wandhoff, 18, who chairs the Schüler Union. “With her departure a central enemy of the rightwing populists has gone. That will help [the CDU] win back disillusioned voters.” To do this, the party should learn from the resurgent Greens and “radiate positivity and optimism”.
And the best way to do that? A new face at the top. Young members have tentatively pinned their hopes on Merkel’s old rival, Friedrich Merz, a near-mythical name they’ve heard whispered reverently in CDU circles for years. They are too young to remember Merz from his previous political career – he quit the Bundestag 10 years ago – but Schulze says he “spoke to his soul” with his call for “change and renewal, but not revolution,” at his press conference last week. Above all, they think, Merz would represent a return to traditional conservatism after years of Merkel pulling the party to the centre.
One thing is clear: the generation who grew up under Merkel don’t want more of the same, and they say that would be guaranteed with Merkel’s preferred successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. And despite 38-year-old health minister Jens Spahn’s best efforts to sell himself as fresh and exciting, the feeling among younger members is that he’s too inexperienced and divisive a figure.
Generation Merkel’s biggest fear is that the CDU will struggle to hold together without her. But the opportunities of her departure outweigh the risks. Germany’s youngest conservatives are now looking to Merkel’s successor for bold solutions on migration, digitalisation and education. They’re hoping for a shift in style that will bring young people like them on board.
“I’d love to see the party rejuvenate,” says CDU youth member Saskia Boehm, 19, from Brandenburg. “We have to reshape it to fit the political zeitgeist and speak to disillusioned younger voters. Business as usual just isn’t appropriate any more.”
You can order Wolfgang Hampel 'Satire ist mein Lieblingstier' (Satire is my favourite animal)
U.S.A.
United Kingdom
Australia
Austria
Brazil
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Norway
Poland
Slovak Republic
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
The Netherlands
Wolfgang Hampel - Satire ist mein Lieblingstier ( Satire is my favourite animal )
Informationen über die Kultveranstaltung "Vita Magica" der Akademie für Ältere in Heidelberg
Wolfgang Hampel - Satire ist mein Lieblingstier ( Satire is my favourite animal )
Many ESC fans from all over the world are so very sad because we lost Joy Fleming - one of the best singers ever.
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel sings 'Try to remember' especially for Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund at Vita Magica September
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