On Friday, March 8, Stuttgart witnessed an impressive moment in the political realignment of the CDU. Friedrich Merz, the chairman of Germany's CDU, gave a blazing speech on the Germany tour as part of the regional conferences, both acknowledging the problems of the past and outlining the path to a bold and confident future.
In his speech, Merz made it clear that the CDU had recognized its past mistakes, in particular the neglect of the Bundeswehr, and had already taken steps to correct them. One example of this is the approval of the 100 billion euro special fund. Merz emphasized the need for strong European unity, especially between Germany, France and Poland, and criticized the Chancellor's recent behaviour as insufficient.
A central theme of the speech was security policy, underlined by the Latin proverb "Si vis pacem, para bellum" - "If you want peace, prepare for war". Merz made it clear that a victory in Ukraine over Russia was essential for Europe's security.
Another focus was on economic policy. Merz called for an end to entrepreneur bashing and outlined measures to strengthen confidence in Germany as a business location, such as the tax-free status of overtime and higher tax-free allowances for employees drawing a pension. He also spoke out against excessive regulation and in favor of lower taxes to encourage domestic investment.
