For the CDU, the strategic choices are unusually stark. A harder migration line may recover some voters but risks strengthening the party it is trying to contain. A return to moderation may reassure urban and business constituencies but leave the eastern electorate feeling ignored. The deeper repair must be organisational. Local associations, candidates with credibility and a willingness to stay in difficult communities are more valuable than another national slogan. The party cannot ask voters to trust a centre-right future if it appears unable to explain what that future means in a village, a port city or a Berlin neighbourhood. more...