Development of the CDU list: Where are the East Berlin candidates?

Development of the CDU list: Where are the East Berlin candidates?

The Berlin CDU set its list for the Bundestag election on February 23 and thus sets a sign of West German dominance in the party. For the first time in two decades, no name of a woman is at the top, but the controversial Jan-Marco Luczak, known for his opponent position on the rent brake. The lack of East German candidates on the list is particularly striking, which Mario Czaja, the only directly elected MP from the CDU from East Berlin, has sharply criticized. In his constituency, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, he started in 2021 despite the nationwide negative trend for the CDU and is also well positioned for the upcoming election. Czaja emphasizes that such decisions reduce appreciation for the eastern districts and their experience in the party, such as Berliner Zeitung reported

No East Germans on front lists

When listing the CDU's state list, it was important that it is strongly western. A total of eleven candidates are nominated, and not one of them has an East biography. Czaja offered to apply in third place on the list, which was denied to him by the state board. "It is violent that there are no East Germans," said Czaja. This debacle could prove to be fatal, since the CDU's success in the eastern districts, especially in Marzahn-Hellersdorf and Lichtenberg, should not only be passed on to the loads from other circles, such as analyzed.