2008-10-16

On 10 October, the CDU held a congress in Dresden devoted to development prospects of eastern Germany. Following the CSU's defeat in Bavaria, the Christian Democrats are trying to regain support in the west of the country and to keep their electorate in the new federal states. The congress was an element of the CDU's struggle for voters, which have been taken away from it by The Left, an increasingly popular party in the east.

19 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall the differences between the eastern and western parts of Germany have not been eliminated. The key problems are unemployment (12.2%), which is two times higher than in the old states, and dependence on funds from the federal budget (approximately 26 billion euros allocated until 2015 as part of Solidarity Pacts I and II, and 2.3 billion euros until 2013 as part of the investment allowance for innovative investments offered to eastern German enterprises). The programme 'Prospects for the East', which envisaged support for economic independence, agriculture and rural areas, the promotion and support for universities' research activity and for boosting employment, was presented at the CDU congress.

The attempts to gain support of the Ossis and the sharp criticism expressed by Christian Democratic politicians against The Left and the SPD, provide a clear sign that the electoral campaign has started. East Germans, who federal politicians usually pay little attention to, have already decided twice on the parliamentary election results. In 1990 and 1998, their votes let the CDU and the SPD, respectively, win a majority of votes on the federal scale. Christian Democrats hope that an effective campaign in eastern Germany may turn out to be a successful move in the context of parliamentary elections in 2009. <zawil>

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