Berlin. Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz is meeting the chairpersons of the party’s 327 district associations on Monday, amid deep frustration within the organization’s grassroots. The two-day conference comes after humiliating election defeats, poor polling figures and persistent disputes in the governing coalition.
Many district leaders have already voiced their dissatisfaction with federal policy ahead of the meeting. As representatives of the local party organizations, they serve as an important link between the grassroots and the regional and state-level structures. The discussion with Merz is expected to be contentious.
The conference is taking place during one of the most serious crises in the CDU’s 81-year history. In September, the party failed for the first time to enter the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At the federal level, the CDU was overtaken by the AfD in polling after the 2025 election and has since fallen well behind. Merz has also recorded historically poor approval ratings.
The district chairpersons will meet first with CDU Secretary-General Franziska Hoppermann at the party headquarters, the Konrad Adenauer House. Later in the afternoon, they are scheduled to hold talks with Merz.
The program also includes a panel discussion titled “How We Reform Germany,” featuring Head of the Chancellery Nina Warken, Education Minister Karin Prien and Junge Union leader Johannes Winkel. Further discussions are planned with the party’s commission on organizational structure and statutes.
Sources: Handelsblatt.