Domestic politics Ahead of the Christian Democrats’
leadership election in 2018, Kiesewetter publicly endorsed
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to succeed Angela Merkel as the party's chair. He later endorsed
Norbert Röttgen as Kramp-Karrenbauer's successor at the party’s
2021 leadership election. In September 2020, Kiesewetter was one of 15 members of his parliamentary group who joined Röttgen in writing an
open letter to
Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer which called on Germany and other EU counties to take in 5000 immigrants who were left without shelter after fires gutted the overcrowded
Mória Reception and Identification Centre on the Greek island of
Lesbos. Ahead of the
2021 national elections, Kiesewetter endorsed
Armin Laschet as the Christian Democrats' joint candidate to succeed
Chancellor Angela Merkel. In January 2025, Kiesewetter was one of 12 CDU lawmakers who opted not to back a draft law on tightening immigration policy sponsored by their own leader
Friedrich Merz, who had pushed for the law despite warnings from party colleagues that he risked being tarnished with the charge of voting alongside the far-right
Alternative for Germany.
Defence policy In 2012, Kiesewetter and
Andreas Schockenhoff proposed in a strategy paper a reform of the requirement of parliamentary approval when sending
Bundeswehr soldiers abroad, suggesting instead to introduce a yearly, general parliamentary decision on German participation in integrated military structures, such as
AWACS,
EU Battlegroups and the
NATO Response Force (NRF). The government would then have a right to deploy, while the Bundestag would have the right to recall the troops.
NSA surveillance scandal In 2014, Kiesewetter said efforts to lock in a "no-spy" agreement with the U.S. contradict the need to follow threatening developments in friendly states. Later that year, he called on
Edward Snowden to speak with the German parliament's investigative committee on
NSA surveillance activities in Germany.
Relations with Russia In August 2012, Kiesewetter was one of 124 members of the Bundestag to sign a letter that was sent to the Russian ambassador to Germany,
Vladimir Grinin, expressing concern over the trial against the three members of
Pussy riot. "Being held in detention for months and the threat of lengthy punishment are draconian and disproportionate," the lawmakers said in the letter. "In a secular and pluralist state, peaceful artistic acts – even if they can be seen as provocative – must not lead to the accusation of serious criminal acts that lead to lengthy prison terms." Holding a special interest in the Balkans, Kiesewetter has in the past called for a stronger German and European commitment to the region, arguing that "Russia is coming into the region as a competitor." He also argues that Berlin should respond to positive changes in the region, such as the election of
Klaus Johannis, the reform-minded Romanian president, who "deserves support". On a
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union, he later argued "it would be a success for Russia" and that "it cannot be in Germany's national interest for a British exit to weaken the EU and strengthen Germany." Days after the
2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage Kiesewetter argued that Russia was behind the attack. In July and August 2023 he explicitly accused Russia of having perpetrated the attack.
Relations with Israel When
Der Spiegel uncovered the German government's controversial decision to export up to 270
Leopard 2A7+ tanks to
Saudi Arabia in October 2011, Kiesewetter in a parliamentary debate put forward a version of events presenting
Israel as the driving force behind the decision, claiming that "Israel not only wanted the sale of these tanks, but explicitly supported it." When
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on Germany to lead a control mission for the
Rafah checkpoint between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in 2014, Kiesewetter cautioned that "having German soldiers on the ground is not an option because that would be unacceptable for Israel." ==Other activities==