Einsteinconnection
The Einstein Connection , also known as the Einstein Circle or Einstein Pact , refers to a federation within the CDU / CSU for the implementation of conservative goals. It was founded in 2007 by four politicians: Philipp Missfelder (then Member of the Bundestag and Chairman of the Junge Union ), Stefan Mappus (then Chairman of the CDU parliamentary group MdL and Deputy Chairman of the CDU Baden-Württemberg ), Hendrik Wüst (then Secretary General of the CDU North Rhine-Westphalia ) and Markus Söder (then Secretary General of the CSU).
The Einstein Connection was founded on the model of the Andean Pact because conservative forces within the CDU no longer saw their interests adequately represented by Chancellor Merkel . On July 11th, 2007, informal talks took place in Café Einstein for coordination, from which the group got its name. While the press mostly speaks of the Einstein Connection, the members use the self-designation Einstein Circle, based on the Andean Pact, the Einstein Pact was also used within the party.
Positions
At the meetings, members wrote the paper Modern Bourgeois Conservatism ; they complained about the increasing lack of traditional values and conservative ideas in the CDU and Angela Merkel's politics. They published the paper on September 5, 2007 in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and on their website. Central points were:
- "German virtues such as honesty, reliability, fairness, hard work, discipline, loyalty, respect and decency" should be strengthened again and the rejection of these values and institutions like the church and the family by the 68s should be overcome.
- “The preservation of creation” is to become the main goal of the party alongside the social market economy . Climate protection should be guaranteed through nuclear power, increased research into renewable energies and hydrogen propulsion .
- Employees and workers should be strengthened through participation in the company.
- Immigration should be limited and immigrants should be more committed to integration and commitment to the Basic Law and the “German guiding culture”. Turkey's membership in the European Union is rejected.
- A "strong state" should protect its citizens and crimes should be punished more severely. Online searches and video surveillance are to be stepped up and Bundeswehr operations inside are to be made possible.
- Families should be strengthened. Among other things, the Einstein Connection also proposed bonuses for parents who decide to look after the family at home.
The positions on family policy have long been controversial internally. While Mappus and Söder criticized von der Leyen's family and crèche policy, Missfelder demonstrated demonstratively behind the then family minister. There was therefore no direct criticism.
After publication of the paper
After the moderate performance of the CDU in the 2009 federal elections , Missfelder declared that the Einstein Circle wanted to publish another thesis paper and fight harder for a more conservative change in policy. Such a paper has not yet appeared.
The black and yellow Merkel II government decided in autumn 2010 to extend the service life of German nuclear power plants . The Union had previously announced this in its election campaign. On March 14, 2011 - a few days after the start of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and a few weeks before three state elections ( in Baden-Württemberg , Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt) - the Merkel government decided to make another significant change in its nuclear or nuclear power plant . energy policy : First, they announced a three-month nuclear moratorium for the seven oldest German nuclear power plants as well as for the controversial due to many mishaps Krümmel nuclear power plant ; on June 6, 2011, it decided to end eight nuclear power plants and phase out nuclear power by the end of 2022 at the latest.
In the state elections in Baden-Württemberg , the CDU slipped from 44.2 to 39.0 percent and the FDP from 10.7 to 5.3 percent; Mappus could not continue his black and yellow coalition government . Mappus stopped all political activities , also because of the EnBW affair .
Söder became a minister in the Bavarian state government ( Beckstein cabinet ) for the first time in October 2007 and subsequently became a minister in the Seehofer I and II cabinets . Since 2018 he has been Prime Minister of the Free State of Bavaria .
Mißfelder died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism in July 2015.
Members
It is not known whether the Einstein Circle includes other politicians in addition to the four founding members. In 2008, Missfelder moved the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, David McAllister , close to the circle and declared that McAllister was also a member in spirit. The latter, however, declared that he did not belong to the group: "I am not so happy with the formation of wings [...] I am a friend of unity within the party." The former Rhineland-Palatinate opposition leader Christian Baldauf was also included in the group, but denied it despite sympathy for the positions a membership.
criticism
Ronald Pofalla remarked to Chancellor Merkel that the media-effective demands of the Einstein Circle would make it more difficult to give the CDU a modern basic program. He also feared that the group might unite the party's conservative faction. Chancellor Merkel herself had previously asked several times that the thesis paper should be presented to her before publication, which did not happen. The CDU general secretary at the time, Hermann Gröhe , urged “to go new paths together”, which was seen as an open criticism of the conservative script.
Der Spiegel criticized the fact that, although the group increasingly called for conservative politics and values, it did not itself provide a precise definition of conservatism. Despite the position paper, the exact direction is unclear.
In 2010 the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung criticized that the Einstein Circle was not assertive enough. Like other conservative groups within the CDU, the members of the circle had not succeeded in shaping the policy of the federal government and making the conservative wing of the party more vocal. The ideas and goals of the members are too different.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Oettinger successor thinks nothing of Merkel's center in: Hamburger Abendblatt on February 1, 2010
- ↑ a b c In search of modern conservatism in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, July 14, 2007
- ^ The CDU and the cold wind of modernity in: Die Zeit on September 28, 2009
- ↑ Conservative in heart - progressive in spirit in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on September 6, 2007
- ↑ Modern bourgeois conservatism - Why the Union has to think more about its roots again in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on September 5, 2007
- ↑ New pact in the Union to strengthen the conservative wing in: Die Welt on July 12, 2007
- ↑ Merkel leaves criticism cold on RP Online on January 11, 2011
- ^ Generation Rastlos (PDF; 1.3 MB) in Rheinischer Merkur on September 11, 2008, p. 7
- ↑ Conservative appetizers in: Der Spiegel on September 10, 2007
- ^ Warning of the conservatives: "Behind lock and bolt" on stern.de on September 6, 2007
- ↑ Conservative - what is it? on sueddeutsche.de on January 14, 2010
- ^ The end of the conservatives on: n-tv.de on January 15, 2010
- ↑ CDU and conservatism: Caught cold in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on October 18, 2010