Press
The EU wants to ban the registration of new combustion engine cars from 2035. There is resistance to this within the CDU – but an online survey backfires.
Berlin – Shortly before the European elections, the CDU wants to put a stop to the ban on combustion engines. In order to capture the mood among the population, the party launched its own online survey. On its website, the CDU asked whether or not people supported the European Union’s “demand to withdraw the ban on combustion engines”. Respondents could choose between yes and no.
However, just one day after the survey was launched, it was deleted again. The reason: the vote was allegedly manipulated through automated voting. Christoph Schleifer, an employee of the company responsible for the survey, Campaigning Software GmbH, told the Picture“The CDU vote on the combustion engine ban that began yesterday was massively manipulated,” says Schleifer. “I have never experienced anything like this in a vote of this kind in our systems.”
“It’s terrible how far things have come in this country” – Linnemann shocked by manipulated poll
The operator then advised the CDU to stop the vote for the time being. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann was deeply shocked by the alleged manipulation of the combustion engine survey. It was “sad how this is being manipulated with criminal energy,” he told the Picture on Sunday“It’s terrible how far things have come in this country.”
The poll can still be seen on the CDU website, but it is no longer possible to cast a vote. The party writes as a warning: “This poll has been massively manipulated. (…) The poll has therefore been switched off.
As the CDU, we stand for a fair election campaign.” Linnemann also stressed to the Picturethat manipulation of votes is unacceptable, especially during election campaigns.
On the internet, however, the possibly manipulated vote is being viewed with humor. “Today, another new episode of ‘The CDU against the Internet’,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter) with a picture of the vote. Before it was deleted, 83 percent of the votes were against reversing the ban on combustion engines.
Merz and Söder against von der Leyen – “Ban on combustion engines must be reversed”
The CDU had actually campaigned for a ban on new cars with combustion engines at the EU level. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) was instrumental in pushing for the new law. With their sudden change of course, the CDU and CSU at the federal level are openly breaking with the Commission President.
“This ban on combustion engines must be reversed,” said CDU leader Friedrich Merz on Wednesday (May 22) at an election campaign event in Saarlouis. “Because we do not know today what kind of mobility can be developed in the future in a truly environmentally neutral and climate-friendly way.”
CSU leader Markus Söder also took aim at his party colleague von der Leyen. “The 2035 ban on combustion engines is wrong and must therefore be withdrawn,” he told the Picture With regard to the German automotive industry, it would be “absurd” to leave this field to other countries. But Söder has already had a different opinion. At the CSU’s online party conference in 2020, he said he was “very much in favor of setting an end date.” Following the Californian model, he called for an end to combustion engines from 2035. According to Söder, this is a contribution to showing “when the fossil age will come to an end for us.”
INSA survey shows: Germany against combustion engine ban
With the sudden change of course, the Union leaders could also be reacting to the current will of the voters. An INSA survey commissioned by the Picture shows that 61 percent of all respondents are against a ban on new cars with combustion engines. Only 24 percent would be in favor of a general ban.
But other parties are also clearly against it – even members of the traffic light coalition. Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) and FDP leader Christian Lindner even vetoed the corresponding EU vote. Former Left Party member Sahra Wagenknecht is also opposed to the planned ban. For her, the EU is thus paving the way for the “triumphal advance of Chinese battery-powered cars in Europe”. This is “an example of the intrusiveness and incompetence of the current EU institutions”.
Is the Union harming the automobile industry with its move?
For the automotive industry, planning security is of great importance, writes the Business WeekThe campaign of the Union parties is achieving the exact opposite. In addition, the industry considers a departure from the combustion engine ban to be unrealistic. “Anyone who advertises this is fooling people,” said a high-ranking manager of a German automobile company to the Business Week and referred to the fact that the Union was suggesting that the ban on combustion engines could still be voted out. (nhi)
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