“Bound by responsibility” is the motto for the CDU’s federal party conference in Stuttgart on February 20–21. It is the party’s first major meeting since Friedrich Merz became chancellor in May 2025 and the Union (CDU and CSU) returned to lead the federal government. The slogan signals a prioritization of duty and achievable measures over grand new promises.
Pressure for action is building. CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann has called for a “year of change” and urged the federal government to present a reform package before spring. The Stuttgart gathering is meant to show that the party can deliver what voters expect.
Federal party conferences in Germany are moments for reassurance, internal critique and electoral positioning. The choice of Stuttgart also has immediate electoral significance: Baden-Württemberg holds state elections two weeks after the conference, and four more states will vote before the end of September. In two of those—Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt—the CDU currently leads state governments. A central question for delegates is whether Merz’s so‑called “chancellor bonus” can be converted into gains for the party at the ballot box.
At the national level the Union is polling below its election result. The CDU and CSU won 28.5% in the February 2025 federal election but recent polls put them nearer to 26%, an unusually low figure for the bloc. Membership has also declined: the CDU reported 356,769 members at the end of 2025, roughly 8,000 fewer than a year earlier and about 27,500 fewer than at the end of 2021.
Meanwhile the federal coalition of the Union and the SPD has been mired for months in disputes over social policy reforms—pensions, employment and health care among them. The government has set up commissions to examine several of these issues. Linnemann is pushing for a coordinated master plan to strengthen Germany as a business location and to steer reforms more effectively across ministries.
Debate has been intense both between coalition partners and within the CDU itself. Under Merz, many senior party voices have moved toward greater economic liberalism and have at times sounded more like opposition critics than unified government spokespeople. That shift has sharpened tensions over policy direction.
A notable flashpoint came from the party’s business wing, the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT), which circulated a draft titled “No legal right to lifestyle part‑time.” The use of the word “lifestyle” to characterize preferences for part‑time work provoked internal criticism and was later removed. Other contentious proposals talked up within party circles include shifting more dental costs to patients instead of covering them through public health insurance, longer working weeks, later retirement ages and greater private provision for old age—measures reflecting business concerns about weak growth and competitiveness.
How these Berlin debates play out locally was on the mind of one of the conference’s 1,001 delegates, Marc Speicher, 41, mayor of Saarlouis and a member of the CDU federal board. Speicher praised the Union‑led government for restoring Germany’s international standing under Merz and for advancing trade and domestic deals, naming agreements such as Mercosur and new partnerships with India. He said Germany had “a lot of catching up to do after three years of red lights,” a reference to the previous coalition.
Saarlouis itself faces major economic change: Ford once employed large numbers there, and the region is now betting on planned industrial projects to secure jobs. Speicher, one of the few federal board members with a background on social welfare committees, argued that the CDU has been most successful when it offered a broad, inclusive profile. “The people want a CDU which confidently states what it stands for,” he said.
On the party’s internal tensions, Speicher urged caution and unity. He said the party should take responsibility for colleagues campaigning in state elections in Baden‑Württemberg and Rhineland‑Palatinate and avoid impulsive reactions to every provocative proposal. With government reform commissions already at work, he stressed the need to balance necessary reforms with broad public acceptance.
The conference will also feature a surprise guest: former chancellor Angela Merkel, who will attend the first day as a guest of honor. It will be her first in‑person CDU appearance since 2019. The strong reaction to her participation underlines the party’s current state of flux and has prompted speculation about whether she will use the occasion to critique Merz’s approach or to remind members of her style of leadership. Whatever unfolds in Merz’s speech or in any votes on his position, Merkel’s presence is certain to focus attention on the party’s direction.
This article was originally written in German.