2024-09-16 15:48:27
EU MP Dennis Radtke takes over as head of the CDU’s employee wing. A conversation about his plans, the BSW – and the life achievements of the Germans.
Karl-Josef Laumann is known and appreciated by many people who otherwise do not have a deep interest in the CDU. This is not only due to his stature and his height of 1.90 meters – Laumann, currently Minister of Social Affairs for North Rhine-Westphalia and Federal Chairman of the CDU’s employee wing, regularly contributes to the debate with pithy words. Be it when it comes to the state of care or working conditions in industry.
After almost 20 years, there is now a change at the top of the Christian Democratic Workers’ Association (CDA); Laumann is retiring as head of the CDA. His successor: EU MP Dennis Radtke. t-online asked Radtke how he intends to fill the shoes of his predecessor, why he rejects cooperation with the BSW – and what plans he has for Germans’ pensions.
t-online: Mr. Radtke, your predecessor as CDA chairman, Karl-Josef Laumann, is considered one of the most popular CDU politicians. What is your strategy to emulate him here?
Dennis Radtke: I don’t know if I aspire to be the most popular CDU politician. Karl-Josef is who he is, and it’s hard to emulate him. Every CDA chairman had his own style. I don’t want to copy anyone, but rather follow my own path. Of course, everyone likes people, including me, but that can’t be forced, nor is it a value in itself.
What are your goals as CDA chairman?
On the one hand, we as the employee wing of the CDU want to influence our government program. On the other hand, the question of Germany’s industrial workers is crucial for me.
A slope is slipping. Industrial workers are flocking to the AfD and now also to the BSW. There is a real gap in representation. The SPD no longer fills this role. People vote with their feet. It is a historic opportunity for us to step into this gap. I do not want to turn the CDU into a workers’ party. But we must make it clear to employees that we are the only ones fighting to preserve and ensure the future viability of their jobs – also in a language that people understand. We owe this to the stability of our democracy.
What exactly do you have planned to pick up the industrial workers?
As the CDU, we already have good offers with regard to the competitiveness of industry. For example, we are calling for a European steel summit and a comprehensive package of measures that are met with great approval by both industry and the unions.
But that is very abstract.
Definitely. Such ideas, papers and legislative proposals are often far removed from the reality of German workers. Now it is a matter of translating this into understandable communication with clear messages. We as a party must explain to people what we as the CDU want. Make it clear to them: We are talking to you about your needs and life plans. We must discuss this with the federal party how to present such points – especially with a view to the inner leadership of the party.
Dennis Radtkeborn in 1979, has been a member of the European Parliament for the CDU since 2017. He is the coordinator of the EPP group in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. Radtke is a trained industrial clerk; until he entered the European Parliament, the CDU man worked for the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union. He has been deputy federal chairman of the CDA since 2019. Radtke is married and has two children.
I translate: You would like Friedrich Merz and Carsten Linnemann to regularly go to the factory halls and discuss things with the people on the assembly line.
For example. It would certainly make sense for our party if we talked to employees more often and listened to their concerns, not just during the election campaign. We as the CDA can be a crucial link here. I think it is important that the entire CDU does this – not just Carsten Linnemann and Friedrich Merz.
Do you wish that the CDA would be seen more in the party?
It is important that the breadth of the CDU as a people’s party is recognized. The historical strength of the CDU is that we were very broadly positioned: employees, entrepreneurs, young, old, men and women. Ensuring this balance is an important task for the party leadership.