DThe Junge Union (JU) has a new federal chairman. At their Germany Day, the delegates of the youth organization of the CDU and CSU voted for Johannes Winkel with almost 87 percent on Friday evening. The 31-year-old qualified lawyer from Kreuztal previously headed the North Rhine-Westphalia state association. He was the only candidate for the post.
In his speech before the election, Winkel called on the delegates to renew the Union. The JU must prove that they have “clever minds”, “exciting content” and “passion“ could bring back to the Union. “Let us as JU be thought leaders on the big questions.” Winkel warned against concentrating on short-term success in surveys and excitement curves in social media. You shouldn’t “let yourself go crazy” with something like that.
Winkel succeeds Tilman Kuban, who, after three and a half years at the head of the Junge Union, has passed the age limit for membership and was therefore no longer available for election. The outgoing chairman expressed clear criticism of the CDU in an emotional and at times combative speech. The JU did not choose that the CDU had four chairmen at the top in the past four years. Some critics would have denied the JU the substantive work because they did not like Friedrich Merz, and then after his election curry favor with the current CDU chairman. That was “a cheek”.
Kuban: CDU not “close to de Leud”
Kuban accused the Union of not being “close to de Leud” and – in the perception of the latter – paying too much attention to issues such as an internal party quota for women. A project that the CDU party conference in Hanover decided against the will of the JU for a limited period. In the future, according to Kuban, the Union should listen more closely to its offspring. Otherwise, don’t be surprised if the election results turn out differently for young people than you would like.
Kuban, who had to struggle with his voice several times because of his emotion, thanked his organization for the support during his tenure. “You are the place where I set my compass. You are the place where I drew my strength to fight some battles against the party leadership.”
