Saxony's CDU aims to come out on top in state elections after losing to AfD in European and local elections

Despite its defeat to the AfD in the European and local elections, the Saxon CDU wants to become "clearly the strongest force" in the state on September 1. "We want to continue to lead the state in the coming years with Michael Kretschmer at the helm," said Secretary General Alexander Dierks in Dresden on Tuesday. "We are fighting for this, and this signal will also come from the state party conference on Saturday in Löbau." The party is convinced that it has the best offer. September 1st will be about very specific issues for Saxony, not about Brussels and Berlin. He did not comment on possible alliance partners. There would be no coalition campaign.

At the party conference with 200 delegates, the Union wants to decide on its government program for the coming legislative period. It is entitled "Because it's about Saxony" and sets out the CDU's positions on 74 pages. Dierks said that the CDU wants to continue to cultivate a political style in which people are involved in the brainstorming process and not make policy from the "top down". There should be no competition to see who can promise the most.

The CDU does not want to guarantee first-class education only at school. The last year of nursery school is to be introduced as a non-contributory pre-school year. More attention needs to be paid to early childhood education, said Dierks. Another concern is the strengthening of rural areas with an efficient infrastructure with medium-sized companies and craft businesses. The upgrading of vocational training should continue. For example, the CDU would like to increase the master craftsman bonus from 2000 to 4000 euros. For the best of each year, master craftsman training should be free of charge.

The topic of work also plays a role in the program. The CDU/CSU rejects all measures to reduce working hours. "The citizen's income is a misguided development, it creates false incentives," said Dierks. One focus concerns internal security. The number of citizen police officers is to be doubled to 800. "We need the police as a visible expression of internal security in our country," emphasized the Secretary General.

On the subject of migration, the CDU is calling for a "breathing upper limit" of 60,000 people per year in Germany. For Saxony, this would mean taking in 3,000 refugees. Stationary border controls should remain. According to Dierks, more than 100 amendments have been submitted to the party conference.