GERMANY’S CENTER-RIGHT PARTIES HAMMER OUT ELECTION PLATFORM

Germany's center-right parties hammered out the final details of their platform for this year's federal election campaign on Sunday, vowing a program appropriate for a modern Germany and tearing into the policies of their left-wing opponents, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

"Germany has always enjoyed strong leadership when the CDU and the CSU were on the same page," said Markus Soeder, head of the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU), which cooperates with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the center-right party of the rest of Germany.

"Our goal is to create a program for a modern Germany," said CDU leader Armin Laschet. The two said their platform would not include any tax hikes, but also pointed out that the pandemic prevents them from promising any tax cuts either.

Laschet said another key goal would be balancing Germany's commitments to climate neutrality with the needs of German companies and employers. He also sought to sow concerns about coalitions involving the center-left, hard-left, environmental or pro-business parties that often make up the rest of the German political spectrum.

"We can't allow a coalition against the union," he said, referring to the CDU/CSU partnership.

He noted that, since the CDU/CSU is currently polling at around 30 percent, it would be well-situated to provide expertise to whatever coalition emerges from September's elections. A survey by INSA for the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday put the union at 28 percent in the polls.

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