Heh, the internal debate started now. With inputs from the usual suspects. Heiner Geißler, former CDU general secretary and more recent Attac member:

"Es gibt immer noch zu viele konservativ-neoliberale Kräfte, die altmodischen Positionen nachhängen. Mit einem antiquierten Familien- und Frauenbild, ständiger Kritik an der Energiewende und der europäischen politischen Einigung und einer marktradikalen Wirtschaftspolitik kann eine Volkspartei nicht erfolgreich sein", sagte Geißler den Ruhr Nachrichten. Der Widerstand gegen Frauenquote und Mindestlohn müsse endlich beendet werden.

"There are still too many conservative-neoliberal forces who cling to old-fashioned positions. With an antiquated image of family and women, permanent criticism of the energy revolution, the European political union, and with radical free-market economic policies, a popular party will not be successful", Geißler told the paper Ruhr Nachrichten. Opposition to quotas for women and minimum wage should finally be given up.

Then he went on to attack the FDP and called on the CDU to differentiate themselves more before it is pulled into the abyss with the falling liberal party.

A usual suspect on the other side, Wolfgang Bosbach (leader of the interior commission of theBundestag) told that he doesn't want a separate CDU [profile] for cities and rural areas, and that it wouldn't make sense for the CDU to copy the Greens because voters will choose the original (interesting twist on the argument on how to deal with right-populist success). Armin Laschet, the new leader of the Northrhine-Westphalia CDU (in opposition after the re-election of an SPD-Greens state government) spun that further and claimed that the Stuttgart Greens copied the CDU.

Well, that's how far internal debate went so far. FAZ moans that "yet again" no consequences have been drawn.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}