Weimar
Dennis Radtke will succeed long-time chairman Karl-Josef Laumann as head of the CDU staff department. The 45-year-old Radtke was elected as the new chairman with 83.1 percent of the vote at the federal congress of the Christian Democratic Workers’ Association (CDA) in Weimar.
Laumann has not run for office since he was in power for 19 years. He is now honorary chairman of the CDA. But the 67-year-old remains a key voice for employee interests in his party as vice-chairman of the CDU and North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
Radtke has been a member of the CDA Federal Board since 2007, most recently as Federal Vice-President. He is a member of the IG BCE trade union and a member of the CDU MEP, which focuses on industry, employment and social issues.
“Giant” Footprints – No clear statement on the K question.
After his election, Radtke declared that the CDU “must enter the federal election campaign with proposals for millions of employees.” Together with CDU Vice-President Laumann, he wants social issues to be more prominent in the CDU. A traffic light government can offer nothing to employees. “The CDU must be recognized as a champion of people who work hard every day but still have a hard time,” warned the new CDA chairman.
In his acceptance speech, Radtke said Laumann’s legacy is “enormous.” He approaches his new office with humility, joy and trust in God.
Radtke also addressed the question of who will be the chancellor. The coalition has the luxury of choosing between three “great men”: CDU leader Friedrich Merz, CSU leader Markus Söder and North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wüst. Whoever it is, “this person must replace Olaf Scholz and must replace him,” Radtke said.
The CDA sees itself as the social conscience of the CDU. Former Labour Minister Norbert Blüm was one of the former Federal Presidents. Laumann, a trained mechanical engineer, has been the head of the CDU association since 2005.
Laumann wants to continue to advocate for the interests of his employees.
After Radtke was elected, he declared that he would not retire and would continue to work as CDU vice-chairman and North Rhine-Westphalia minister to improve the situation of German workers.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who was also a guest speaker in Weimar, said Laumann’s departure from the CDA presidency represented at best a minor turning point. Merz noted that Laumann had achieved the best election result of any member of parliament and was elected to a narrow party leadership. The CDU needs Laumann and continues to count on him.
notification: This report is part of an automated service of the German Press Agency (dpa), which operates under strict journalistic regulations. The AZ Online editorial team does not edit or check it. Please send questions or comments to Feedback@az-muenchen.de.
