Friedrich Merz visiting Cologne: Election campaign certainly in focus!
Friedrich Merz visiting Cologne: Election campaign certainly in focus!
Köln, Deutschland - Friedrich Merz, the Chancellor candidate of the Union and CDU boss, will visit the University Hospital in Cologne on February 4, 2025. This appointment takes place in the context of the Bundestag election campaign and aims to put medical care and the challenges in healthcare for the foreground. During the tour, Merz is accompanied by North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst, although no information has been provided by the Union about the exact process of visiting, such as t-online reported.
However,Merz is currently also in political criticism, especially after the recent coordination in the Bundestag, in which the Union worked with the AfD. This decision has caused excitement both in the political landscape and the population. Hesse's Prime Minister Boris Rhein and the CDU leadership support Merz ’migration policy, even if the discussion about working with the AfD is viewed skeptically. Rhein explained that such a discussion was not harmful, since the citizens knew for which positions the politicians stand for, such as performed.
election campaign and migration plans
As part of the election campaign, the CDU is planning a party congress next Monday to the decision of an “immediate program” with specific migration plans. One of the central points is Merz ’five-point plan, which is intended to provide for border controls and rejections. However, these political initiatives were controversial because the vote in the Bundestag received a majority with votes from the AfD. Over 160,000 people demonstrated against this policy in Berlin, and the protests also extended to other cities such as Hamburg, Stuttgart and Essen.
In the current political survey, the Union remains the strongest force with 30 %, closely followed by the AfD with 22 % and the SPD with 17 %. 32 % of the respondents support a coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD. In the event of his chancellorship, Merz has announced a turn in asylum and economic policy, which, however, leads to concerns about his ability to maintain a clear separation to the AfD. Leading politicians, including the Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, criticize Merz 'approach as potentially harmful to democracy, while his strategic skill through internal news and assessments of politicalologists is considered weakened.
internal security as an election campaign topic
Another central aspect of the election campaign is internal security, which, according to the Global Peace Index, is considered one of the most important tasks in the state. Despite a nationwide increase in crimes, Germany remains one of the safest countries worldwide. The focus on safety was intensified in particular after a knife attack in Aschaffenburg. Different approaches from the parties are emerging in the space of internal security. While the CDU calls for stronger state control and more consistent implementation of the law, other parties such as the SPD rely on prevention measures and democracy formation.
The approaches to internal security in the election programs are diverse:
| party
| |
|---|---|
| SPD | focus on prevention, strengthening of democracy education |
| CDU | internal security as a focus, more state control |
| Bündnis 90/The Greens | Support of prevention offers against extremism |
| FDP | Protection of civil rights, rejection of comprehensive controls |
| afd | Extensive skills for security authorities |
| the left | Limitation of state control, social justice |
These different approaches illustrate how the parties try to position themselves on the challenges of internal security and migration. With the upcoming visit to Cologne, Merz will try to address this important election campaign topic and further consolidate its point of view.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Ort | Köln, Deutschland |
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