The 57-year-old teacher and former district chairman of the Altona CDU explained in Interview with the “Hamburger Abendblatt” that this step was preceded by “very long and careful consideration”. Weinberg, who sat in the Bundestag from 2005 to 2021 and was most recently the Union parliamentary group’s spokesman on family policy, no longer feels bound to today’s CDU.
Weinberg: Growing alienation from the party
The alienation between Weinberg and the CDU at both the state and federal level has accelerated following the party’s historic defeat in the 2020 state elections. Under his leadership, the CDU achieved its worst result ever with 11.2 percent. Weinberg belonged to the Christian-social and liberal wing of the party and was for a long time state chairman of the Christian Democratic Employees’ Association (CDA).
Weinberg’s dissatisfaction with the current direction of the CDU was a key reason for his departure. “My social attitude, which focuses on cohesion and solidarity instead of populism and polarization, my understanding of politics, which focuses on balance and overall political responsibility towards all people instead of a narrow electoral clientele policy, were always indispensable prerequisites for a bond with the CDU,” explained Weinberg in an interview with the “Hamburger Abendblatt”. These bonding elements are no longer viable for him.
Criticism of populist tendencies
One of the specific reasons for Weinberg’s resignation was a statement by CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann. He had spoken out in favor of cutting off the citizen’s allowance for more than 100,000 people because they were allegedly not prepared to take a job. “Today, I increasingly recognize lines and orientations in the CDU’s socio-political stance, political appearance and content-related positioning that are not mine and that I can no longer support as a member,” Weinberg criticized clearly.
During Angela Merkel’s chancellorship, Weinberg supported the liberal course of the then First Mayor Ole von Beust and advocated the primary school reform, which was later overturned by a referendum. “I drew my little brushstrokes on the ‘big picture’ presented by Ole von Beust and Angela Merkel with great conviction. I always felt the overall positive effect of the overall responsibility towards the people – even beyond one’s own electorate,” Weinberg said looking back.
