The CDU sets the course to get rid of the former constitutional protector Maaßen. For the party, it is about a clear demarcation to the far right. It will probably be a long struggle.
The CDU leadership is taking action in the ongoing conflict with Hans-Georg Maassen and wants to expel the former president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution from the party. The federal board unanimously initiated the procedure and already withdrew his membership rights.
Party leader Friedrich Merz called the decision “inevitable”. He referred to recent statements by the 60-year-old that had no place in the CDU in terms of language use and ideas. A district party court in Thuringia is now initially responsible. A lengthy argument is expected.
Merz emphasized that the party leadership’s decision was made “without abstentions and without dissenting votes”. The entire discussion lasted “less than ten minutes”. He left no doubt about the political signal: “The clear dividing line was drawn today.” The party will thank this decision “to a large extent”. And the population can be seen: “We are conservative, we are liberal, we are Christian-social – but we are not right-wing extremists, and we are not approaching the AfD, at any point. And that’s why the “fire wall” is holding up at this point.”
“Red-Green Racial Science”
The decision was clear. Maassen did not comply with a request from the party leadership to resign himself. At the end of January, the CDU leadership accused him of using “language from the milieu of anti-Semites and conspiracy ideologues to ethnic expressions”. It was about several statements by Maassen that had triggered criticism. In an interview, for example, he spoke of “red-green racial theory”.
Maassen has been chairman of the conservative Values Union, which is not a CDU organization, since the end of January. The Value Union and Maassen said in writing that they were “relaxed and unemotional” about the exclusion process. The allegations are unjustified, defamatory and not verifiable. The elimination process has no chance of success. In the statement, the CDU leadership is accused of wanting to throw a prominent conservative member out of the party in order to prevent a course correction in the CDU.
Maassen criticizes “character assassination campaign”
Maassen had previously rejected all allegations in a statement – combined with counterattacks: “The political aim of the smear and character assassination campaign against me and the party expulsion procedure is obviously to erect a “fire wall” in the CDU against all those who support the left-wing do not want to support the green course of the party leadership”. Maassen suggested issuing a warning, “which I would be willing to accept in principle, depending on the progress of the proceedings”.
In the CDU headquarters, however, the 26-page brief did not help to relax – on the contrary. Maassen expressed in the letter “that he himself admits that he has crossed borders,” said General Secretary Mario Czaja. “Otherwise he would not have offered his own regulatory measures for himself.” Treasurer Julia Klöckner called it “highly problematic” how Maaßen always went a few centimeters further with the spectrum of his statements towards right-wing extremist positions. “Anyone who talks about racial theory, that’s no coincidence.” That’s a pity for the CDU.
party exclusion difficult
The decision should now be properly delivered to Maassen, explained Merz. Then he is no longer a member. It is assumed that he will not accept the decision. The process could drag on for years. Party exclusions are considered difficult, the requirements for this are high. Several attempts were necessary for the SPD to throw Thilo Sarrazin out. The CDU remembers the former member of the Bundestag Martin Hohmann, who was expelled from the Hesse CDU in 2004 because of a speech criticized as anti-Semitic. The Federal Party Court confirmed that. In general, those affected can also go to ordinary courts.
The long-time party member Maaßen ran unsuccessfully as a direct candidate for the CDU in Thuringia in the 2021 federal election. He has no office and no functions in the party. On the subject of the Union of Values, the Federal Executive Committee now expressed a “political disapproval”: Anyone who is a CDU member cannot be in the Union of Values at the same time. Formally speaking, this is not a decision on incompatibility that, according to the CDU, a party conference would have to make.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
