CDU on democracy and the state

The CDU wants to suspend the city's treaties with the Muslim associations. In its view, only partners that actively stand up for the agreed values and enforce them among their members should hold such treaties.

Hamburg has treaties with Muslim associations. The CDU wants to put these treaties on hold. It says the associations do not follow the shared values enough. Anyone who does not support Israel's right to exist should not be a partner of the city.

The platform bases the demand on two associations. According to the CDU, DITIB Nord is directly controlled by the Turkish government. The Schura Hamburg is said not to have credibly distanced itself from the Islamic Center Hamburg, which the platform says was steered by Iran's leadership. The CDU also makes active support for Israel's right to exist and to defend itself against terrorists a condition for any treaty partnership with the city.

The CDU wants to tie public funding to two written declarations: a commitment to the free democratic basic order and one against antisemitism. This is meant to keep public money away from extremist organizers or projects.

Clubs and groups often get money from the state. The CDU wants a new rule for this. The groups should declare in writing that they support democracy. They should also declare that they are against hatred of Jews.

The so-called extremism clause would apply to every association and organization that receives funding. It requires a "democracy declaration" and an "IHRA declaration" based on the definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Initiatives and events that honor anti-democratic role models, are run by anti-constitutional political or religious extremists, or pursue such aims are to be excluded.

The CDU wants residents and businesses to deal with only one agency per matter and to get as many services as possible online. A Hamburg regulatory control council is meant to help reduce bureaucratic burdens.

The CDU wants to make government offices simpler. Only one office should handle each matter. People should be able to do many things online. A new body should check where there is too much red tape.

In the CDU's view, the administration should see itself more as a service provider that enables and speeds up projects. Processes are to be digitalized and automated as far as possible. Registering a business should take only a few days, following Estonia's example. Public contracts should be awarded electronically to a greater extent. The planned council is modeled on the federal Normenkontrollrat, a body that reviews laws for their bureaucratic impact.

The CDU wants to strengthen the district centers in Hamburg's boroughs and simplify applications for neighborhood festivals and similar events. According to the platform, requirements and red tape make such projects too expensive and too burdensome.

The CDU wants to strengthen the centers of the city districts. Neighborhood festivals should be easier to hold. Applications for them should be short and simple. This should also help small clubs and volunteers.

The platform says neighborhoods should come together through local festivals and activities. To make that possible, the CDU wants shorter application procedures so that volunteers, small associations and small organizers can carry out their ideas. For downtown and the borough centers, the platform also lists digital, automated and faster permitting, including for special uses and changes of use. Reporting duties the party considers unnecessary are to be dropped.

The CDU wants to relieve the administration through fewer and clearer rules and new structures instead of more staff or money. Procedures are to become faster, and companies are to face fewer documentation and reporting duties.

The CDU wants fewer rules for the administration. The rules should also be clearer. Applications should be finished faster, for example for building. Companies should have to write fewer reports. For the CDU, more staff is not the answer.

The platform blames the overload on too many and overly complex rules, some of them set by the EU. Building permits, infrastructure projects and business registrations, among others, are to move faster. Agencies are to make more use of their discretion and see themselves as supporting citizens. The CDU wants to bring science, research and start-ups into policy projects early as a "future lobby." Laws are to be based on evidence, and their effects are to be checked.

The CDU wants to make Hamburg a more attractive employer in order to recruit good new staff at all career levels. Collective pay settlements are to apply to civil servants as well, alongside flexible hours, housing for employees and better protection from violence.

The city needs good staff. The CDU wants to make working for the city more attractive. Civil servants should get the same pay raises as other public employees. There should be flexible working hours and housing for employees. The CDU does not accept violence against staff.

The plan includes flexible working hours where possible, well-equipped workplaces and digital ways of working. Civil servants' pay is to meet constitutional requirements. The move into retirement is to become more flexible, and people who want to work longer are to get support. Housing for employees is meant mainly to help newcomers get started in Hamburg. The CDU applies zero tolerance to violence against staff, and those affected are to receive more protection and help.

The CDU wants the districts to handle administrative tasks close to residents and be reachable both in person and digitally. A mobile citizens' office, enough staff in the service centers and more digital guides are meant to help.

The district offices should be easy for people to reach. The CDU wants a citizens' office that comes to the people. It could stand at the weekly market, for example. The offices should have enough staff. Helpers should support people with digital applications.

The CDU criticizes the 2023 centralization of service centers, saying it has not improved service and puts small locations on the city's edge at risk. It objects to long waits for appointments and to the HamburgService online booking system. For the resident services locations it demands enough qualified staff, especially before the travel season, when many ID documents are requested. The "Digital-Lotsen" (digital guides) project is to be extended to all locations.

The CDU wants more qualified staff in the district offices and better pay for specialists so the districts can compete with the state and federal levels. It also wants to raise the framework allocations to the districts.

The district offices do not have enough staff. The CDU wants to hire more people there. Specialists such as engineers should get more pay. The districts should also get more money for their regular tasks.

According to the platform, district offices suffer from vacancies, absences and overload because they pay less and central agencies lure staff away. More employees are meant to reduce overtime and lower sick leave. Working conditions are to be improved together with the staff. The CDU wants to raise the framework allocations, the lump-sum funds for regular tasks, arguing they have recently not even covered negotiated pay increases. The formulas for dividing money among the districts are to be reviewed and adjusted.

The CDU wants the Senate (Hamburg's state government) to be able to take over district decisions only on matters of citywide importance. Agreements with the districts are to come about only with their participation and consent.

The Senate, Hamburg's government, can take over decisions from the districts. The CDU wants to allow this only in a few cases. The issue must then matter for the whole city. The districts should be able to object. Then the Bürgerschaft, Hamburg's parliament, decides.

The term citywide importance is to be interpreted narrowly. Before taking over a matter or issuing an instruction, the Senate would have to inform the district assembly and hold a conciliation procedure. If that fails, the district assembly or its main committee can object by majority vote within four weeks, and the Bürgerschaft then makes the final decision. In the CDU's view, agreements such as the "Vertrag für Hamburg" or the cycling alliance strip the districts of powers. Such agreements are in future to require the express consent of the districts and district assemblies.