Comment on Manuel Hagel: The bearer of hope is responsible

But on the other hand, Hagel, the youngest state leader in the history of the Baden-Württemberg CDU, is now more than just a bearer of hope. He is responsible. It will no longer be possible to blame others for election defeats like the one in 2021, which he experienced in a crucial position as Secretary General.

The local and European elections in 2024 are already a first acid test – for Hagel and the new unity of the CDU demonstrated in Reutlingen.

Since 2011, there has been one electoral defeat after the next in the country. First opposition, then only junior partners among the Greens – that doesn’t fit with the claim to power and the self-image of the Southwest CDU, which has long been spoiled for success. In 2026 the conditions could be better than ever to regain the top.

The SPD, Greens and FDP react so badly in the federal government that the CDU has to do little to win votes. And: the incumbent Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann will no longer run in Baden-Württemberg in 2026.

This opportunity is also a big mortgage for Hagel. He managed to get the party behind him. And as much as Hagel presents himself as an innovator, he caresses the soul of the CDU audience.

Limit immigration, Basic Law instead of Sharia, personal responsibility instead of paternalism – these were his watchwords in Reutlingen.

But outside the CDU bubble that is not enough. What does a modern conservatism look like that takes social changes seriously, relaxes a bit and at the same time does not give up core positions?

How can the wall to the AfD that Hagel has set unmovably be maintained without leaving the migration debate to the AfD?

From now on, Hagel must provide answers that will convince his party as well as those who recently did not vote for the Union. Otherwise the dream result will be followed by a rude awakening.