CDU Saxony: Alexander Dierks puts pressure on Merkel's successor

WORLD: Mr Dierks, who would be the best candidate or the best candidate for the presidency of the CDU from the point of view of East Germany?

Alexander Dierks: We are at the beginning of the debate. I do not want to hire me yet. But all candidates should take a look at the next election year. The May European elections will be followed by regional elections in Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia in the late summer and autumn. This is why the new federal states must play an important role in the debate over the estate of Angela Merkel.

WORLD: To what extent do candidates know the specific problems of East Germany?

Dierks: Friedrich Merz was in Saxony during his active political period until 2009. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, as Secretary General, was able to get a clear idea of ​​the state of mind of our members in during his visits during his "listening tour".

Jens Spahn has also participated in various events here, recently with us in the parliamentary group. Everyone has access to problems and special needs. But this must also be concrete. All three of us attended the party congress in Leipzig on December 1st.

WORLD: What are the most important topics here?

Dierks: Structural change in the Lusatian coal mining district is a subject occupying both Saxony and Brandenburg. The quality of life in rural areas plays a special role. And on issues of homeland security, border crime and migration, people expect clear answers, not rhetorical excuses.

But also in the areas of education, family and care, we look forward to the ideas of the candidates. There will also be regional conferences in the new countries where we will discuss their ideas. Remote diagnostics in East Germany do not help either. Personal encounters and listening are always better than the gray theory.

WORLD: Can you recognize a preference for someone from the East?

Dierks: No. The race is open. First comes the debate, then we decide.

WORLD: In the next year's regional elections, the question is whether the People's Party principle still works. The erosion of the political party system is stronger here than in the West. Has this danger been recognized everywhere in the Union?

Dierks: The binding power of the parties, which has developed in West Germany over generations, was becoming weaker in the east. It is now a national trend. The CDU is the only popular party that remains in the East and the West. We need a healthy conflict of ideas, that is what makes a popular party. It must also take into account the new leadership.

WORLD: In the East, was Angela Merkel really perceived as an Eastern politician?

Dierks: I think so But there has been a lot of disappointment in recent years. According to the motto: "It's one of us, what is it doing now?" During the 2013 election campaign, many people at the information booth shouted from afar: "I chose the CDU because you have the Merkel." vice versa. The special approval and the special rejection are both related to the fact that the Chancellor is also perceived as a representative of the interests of East Germany.

WORLD: At the head of the CDU, the East Germans are not yet represented. How do you intend to influence the course of the Union in 2019?

Dierks: We have appointed our Prime Minister and country president, Michael Kretschmer, to the Presidium. The CDU, as a party of the Union, must have an interest in the interests and feelings of East Germany in respect of its leaders being taken into account by the staff.

This would be an important sign if, besides Michael Kretschmer, Mike Mohring was also elected to the presidium and two young people from these new countries belonged to the leadership of the party. The substantial reorganization of December may not go beyond the East.

WORLD: The East German regional badociations represent about as many delegates as the Lower Saxony CDU. How do you want to enter?

Dierks: Anyone who represents the CDU at its head in the future can not be the result of pure arithmetic. The congress of the federal party has a great political responsibility here.

WORLD: On the occasion of the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German unit is convened in the Federal Republic. The economic data are not as good as long, but they are booming in the East. Why?

Dierks: It's a paradox. Most East Germans are satisfied with their personal situation. Nevertheless, many people ask themselves the following question: is what I am living today really what I wanted in 1989/90? Did I go out on the street for that?

The degree of dissatisfaction with current developments, particularly in the areas of migration and homeland security, is greater for us. In 2015, many felt that something was missing. Especially in the new countries, people are waiting for the state to act.

WORLD: The refugee crisis was an even bigger political break in the new Länder than in the western countries?

Dierks: Yes, and the policy must respond to this state of mind of the citizens. At that time, a lot of confidence was lost. Unfortunately, some West Germans still show some degree of self-satisfaction with East Germany.

There is often too little empathy for what people have done here after everything changed 28 years ago. At that time, the life plan, the whole coordinate system, changed for each individual. This needs to be more widely recognized.

WORLD: Riots like those in Chemnitz and neo-Nazi parades take place more often in the east than in the west. In your opinion, is this a consequence of a lack of recognition?

Dierks: It would be too easy, of course. I have to take the concerns seriously, but the personal concerns or disappointments of the past do not justify violence.

In Chemnitz, several foreign restaurants and a kosher restaurant have been attacked in recent weeks. Hitler was greeted during demonstrations. A terrorist cell from the far right has been dug.

To that end, civil society, and I also count the CDU, must say very clearly that this has no place in our democracy. It is to find the measure and the center. This is the work of the CDU – and that's what the CDU can do.

WORLD: The political interest in East Germany is currently higher than it has been for a long time. In Chemnitz, the federal politicians gave the paw in the hand: the president was present, as well as deputies and party leaders, announced the Chancellor. The title of the events is always "dialogue". What do you think?

Dierks: I think it's fair when the highest politicians face the conversation in difficult situations. The direct conversation, the dialogue at the eye level is particularly important for us, as a Saxon Union and Michael Kretschmer personally. But the emphasis is on the "dialogue".

It is speaking and listening, on both sides. But no one should come to Saxony and Chemnitz to explain the world to citizens or to democracy. Anyone traveling in the East and looking for a conversation is welcome. But he should also be willing to reconsider and, if necessary, correct his own positions.

At the same time, all the critics of Saxony do not automatically denigrate Saxony. Here, we must also be more relaxed. Unacceptable, however, are these forms of radical criticism, such as they have suffered in recent weeks, the Chemnitz.