With a 75-point program, the CSU wants to polish up its dusty image, become modern and somehow cool. This is in response to massive losses of support among young first-time voters in recent elections and the fierce competition between the union and the green party.
The core of a key motion for the party conference next friday and saturday is the goal of making the CSU more modern, younger, more female and at the same time the leading digital party in germany. In this way, for example, it also wants to attract more votes from younger people and women. "The whole thing will then give a real boost," said CSU leader markus soder on monday in munich.
"75 points to make the CSU the people’s party of the 21st century. Making the 21st century. We want to renew the myth of the people’s party CSU and show that the idea of the people’s party has a future," it says in the motion, which the CSU board unanimously approved on monday.
Soder spoke of a "step into the future", a renewal and further development of the party. The goal is to reach new social groups and a different broad and deep impact.
In terms of content, the CSU wants to pay more attention to the issues that concern younger people: "the young generation is making the major issues of our time – such as climate protection – its own topics. And so we want to make them our themes," is the promise in the lead proposal. In environmental, species and climate protection, a lot has already been achieved, it is emphasized. Now there is to be a separate forum "climate and environment" in the CSU, which is to take care of the issues.
The CSU is forced to take action here: in the 2018 state elections, it came in a very close second among first-time voters, and in the european elections, it finished well behind the greens with 15 percent of this group. In addition, in the most recent election polls, the CSU did not surpass its 37.2 percent result in the bavarian elections in the fall of 2018.
But the main aim of the motion is to bring about organizational changes: the 40 percent quota for women is to be extended from the state and district executive boards to the county executive boards. A 50-percent quota is even to apply to the more selective executive committees – chairmen, deputy chairmen, secretaries, treasurers. In addition, in the future there should be a young representative under 35 on the executive board, and under 40 on the state executive board, as vice president. Digital officers are to be elected in local and district associations. In addition, virtual board meetings are to become possible – and ultimately even virtual party conventions, as "a new instrument for digital co-determination.
But the CSU also wants to do everything it can to make itself more attractive to old and new members. Potential members are wooed with an online membership that is not tied to a specific location, but without the right to vote within the party. Theoretically, such members can also exist outside of bavaria in the future. Every member is to be allowed to submit motions for the party congress throughout the year. Online should then be voted which motions should be singled out at the end. And: at lower party levels, there should be more meetings of members instead of delegates.
At the party conference on friday and saturday, the CSU party executive committee will also be elected – as is traditional. Soder is also standing for re-election.
