At the CDU federal party congress in Stuttgart, Chancellor Friedrich Merz was confirmed as party leader with 91.2 percent of the votes. The vote was delayed by over three hours due to technical issues with digital voting, leading to paper ballots. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel missed the announcement but congratulated him via SMS.
The 38th CDU federal party congress in Stuttgart marked the first re-election of Friedrich Merz as party leader since taking office as Chancellor. Merz received 878 out of 963 valid votes, equating to 91.2 percent – an increase from the 89.8 percent in 2024. There were 14 abstentions and no votes against. The vote, originally scheduled for 3:15 p.m., was delayed by the Chancellor's speech lasting over 70 minutes and the failure of the electronic system. The WLAN was overloaded, and only about 600 of 1001 delegates could register. After a test vote was aborted, paper ballots were distributed.
In his 75-minute speech, Merz addressed foreign and domestic policy, announced reforms, and was self-critical. "We are the party of the future, the doers' party, the party of confidence for Germany," he said. He promised a paradigm shift in the pension system, where statutory pensions would become just one pillar alongside stronger private and occupational provisions. Merz asked for patience in the black-red coalition with the SPD and criticized ritual rejections of proposals. "I accept this criticism," he conceded, referring to high expectations after the government change.
Angela Merkel, attending the congress after a long absence, left shortly after 6 p.m. to catch the last train to Berlin. She had planned to stay until the announcement but congratulated Merz via SMS. General Secretary Carsten Linnemann was confirmed with 90.5 percent, and Minister President Sven Schulze was elected to the presidium with about 87 percent.
Merz praised cooperation with the CSU as "rarely so good." CSU leader Markus Söder, who received 83.6 percent in his re-election, congratulated on Instagram and X. On Saturday, Söder will deliver his speech, preceded by delegate discussions on pension proposals and a social media ban for children under 16.
