Concerns are emerging from within the CDU about the state of the coalition with the SPD. "Blockades and blame games, as we have heard from the SPD in recent days, are costing more and more trust in the ability of politics to act," said the Union's parliamentary manager in the Bundestag, Steffen Bilger, to the Düsseldorf-based Handelsblatt newspaper according to a statement on Sunday. CDU politician Peter Altmaier had previously also expressed concerns.
"Many citizens are currently contacting us politicians and appealing to our sense of responsibility," Bilger continued. The current challenges are significant, both domestically and internationally. "That is precisely why the coalition of Union and SPD must do everything to tackle reforms and move this country forward again," the CDU politician demanded.
"The coalition must immediately return to a constructive reform mode and deliver," Bilger said. He expressed understanding for remarks by former Federal Economics Minister Altmaier, who had spoken of a looming "state crisis" in a podcast by journalist Paul Ronzheimer. However, Bilger also added: "Our democratic institutions are robust and have always demonstrated stability in difficult times."
SPD parliamentary manager Dirk Wiese criticized Altmaier's statements. "I consider talking up a state crisis to be reckless," he also told Handelsblatt. Wiese accused Altmaier of offering inappropriate "advice from the sidelines" and also noted that as a government member, he himself "pushed one necessary decision or another onto the back burner."
The mood in the coalition is currently tense due to disagreements over various reforms and legislative proposals. This is compounded by the poor economic situation as well as weak polling numbers for both the SPD and the CDU/CSU. The Union now regularly trails behind the AfD in polls, while the Social Democrats were significantly behind the Greens in a Forsa poll last week with twelve percent and only level with the Left Party.
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