From BZ/dpa
After taking over government in April, the Berlin CDU wants to consistently push for a policy change in the city.
“The people of Berlin have chosen the change, and I can only say: We are now making this change,” said the governing mayor and CDU state leader Kai Wegner on Saturday at a party conference in Neukölln.
“There is a change in political direction in Berlin,” he explained. “Away from ideology towards pragmatism, away from clientelistic politics towards looking at everyone, away from division, not the inner city or the outskirts, not either or, more both and.” That is the motto of the CDU in government responsibility.
As one of several examples, Wegner cited mobility policy, in which the city is divided thanks to the Greens, who have been responsible here for years. The Greens had not achieved much more than turning Friedrichstrasse into a “bulky waste dumping site,” he said.
Kai Wegner (M.), state chairman of the CDU Berlin, stands among applauding CDU members, including the new general secretary Ottilie Klein (39), during the CDU state party conference of the Berlin CDU in the Estrel Convention Center after his speech. Photo: Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
He alluded to the fact that a section of the street was closed to motorized traffic for a long time in order to convert it into a “promenade zone”. CDU Transport Senator Manja Schreiner lifted the closure as one of her first official acts.
“We believe that people can decide for themselves how they want to move around the city,” says Wegner. “And if people want to continue to travel by car, and many have to, then they should do so.” The CDU stands for a mobility policy for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and public transport users alike.
There is also a change of course in educational policy, digitalization or administrative modernization, says Wegner. The police and fire departments would be better equipped. And: “We will give the police, the fire brigade and public order offices the support they deserve. Whoever protects us, we protect.”
Wegner continued: “I want Berlin to be safe everywhere, including Görlitzer Park.” In addition to internal security, he sees social security as a key issue.
Wegner remains CDU chairman in Berlin
Berlin’s governing mayor also remains CDU chairman in the capital. On Saturday, 249 delegates voted for the 50-year-old, who had no opponent, with 10 votes against and 4 abstentions. This corresponds to an approval of 94.7 percent. The CDU spoke of around 96 percent because, unlike other parties, it does not take abstentions into account.
Wegner has been CDU leader in Berlin since May 2019. When the House of Representatives election was repeated in February of this year, he led the CDU back to power after many years in opposition: it won the election and has been governing together with the SPD since April. With Wegner, the party has a governing mayor in Berlin for the first time in more than two decades.