Two-day retreat and its paper

The CDU presidium spent two days in Berlin in a retreat that began on Sunday, 11 October, after defeats in the September state elections pushed the party into what Merz described as a crisis of trust. The retreat produced a short paper titled "Was jetzt passieren muss" ("What must happen now"). Tagesspiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung describe it as six pages, while RP Online calls it a five-page plan. Merz said a party cannot be reinvented over a weekend, but that the CDU had to act quickly. RP Online also reported that some state parliamentary group leaders were disappointed and that the paper contains no timetable.

Merz addressed the press after the sessions and set out the aim in plain terms.

“We have to work our way out of a low point, including a crisis of trust. We are adjusting course. We want to show that we are ready for change.”

Electricity tax and growth

The coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD has so far cut the electricity tax only for certain economic sectors. The CDU wants the lower rate to apply to everyone. Handelsblatt reports that the coalition had originally planned in its coalition agreement to bring the tax to the European minimum, then dropped the plan last summer over budget strain. Merz ties the funding to growth, citing government expectations of 1.3% for the current year and 1.1% for the following year, after the 2026 forecast was raised from 0.5%. He put the arithmetic this way: each percentage point of growth brings roughly 10 billion euros in extra tax revenue, of which 5 billion goes to the federal government. RP Online notes that which budget room will be used has not been specified.

2026 (previous expectation)0.5%

2026 (current expectation)1.3%

Following year (current expectation)1.1%

2026 (previous expectation)

0.5 %

2026 (current expectation)

1.3 %

Following year (current expectation)

1.1 %

Data from the article text

CDU general secretary Franziska Hoppermann put the cost issue more directly.

“Electricity prices must come down.”

Health, care and security

Hoppermann also said that anyone who needs a specialist appointment should get one, regardless of whether they are privately or statutorily insured. The paper keeps the credit for care time toward pensions for relatives who care for others, which the CDU calls "Heldinnen und Helden des Alltags" (heroes of everyday life). Other points include removing unnecessary building rules to make building and renovation cheaper, and dropping reporting duties for businesses. The paper also calls for the federal government to cut air traffic control fees in the short term to prevent further thinning of domestic flights. Hoppermann added that there should be no no-go areas or fear zones in cities.

Party standing and reactions

Civey managing director Jana Mütze briefed the retreat on public sentiment. According to that account, people know reforms are needed but no longer believe reforms will raise their living standards, and the slogan of prosperity for all no longer persuades them. Tagesspiegel reports that several polls put the Union below 20% at federal level, compared with 28.5% at the election in early 2025. Hesse's premier Boris Rhein wrote on X that the CDU must regain authority over everyday issues.

“Don't promise too much, but keep everything. That is how we win back trust for the CDU.”

Merz also addressed the resignation of minister Bas at the press conference, though the articles give no details of that exchange. He framed the next steps as deciding, implementing and then letting the measures take effect.