The CDU has been criticized since its parliamentary group in Thuringia pushed through an initiative with AfD votes. The federal party rejected allegations – and also wants to discuss other profile topics.
In the debate about the CDU’s course, leading party representatives opposed a fixation on dealing with the AfD. Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) told the newspapers of the Bavaria media group: “Overall, we should talk less about such a protest party and much more about the issues that really concern people, such as migration, economic growth, loss of prosperity and energy.” General Secretary Carsten Linnemann also told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that he wanted to “move away from these discussions that only revolve around the AfD.”
Rödder open to CDU minority governments
At the same time, Linnemann once again distanced himself from the considerations of the chairman of the CDU Basic Values Commission, Andreas Rödder. The historian had shown himself to be open to CDU minority governments in the East, even if they were occasionally supported by the AfD. Linnemann reiterated that this was out of the question. “We don’t make ourselves the pawn of the political fringes.” He added: “Andreas Rödder does not speak for the CDU. The Basic Values Commission completed its work a year ago.”
Two weeks before the state elections, Rhein emphasized that for him personally and for the Hessian CDU, “any cooperation with this protest party” was out of the question. “For us, this also includes a clear rejection of introducing an initiative that relies on the votes of the AfD.” In the Thuringian state parliament, the CDU recently pushed through a tax cut with the votes of the AfD.
Wüst: “We don’t want to have anything to do with the AfD”
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “Our position is very, very clear: We don’t want to have anything to do with the AfD. It is anti-democratic and inhumane.” Wüste added, referring to the Thuringian AfD parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke: “Mr. Höcke, the decisive person in this party, is a Nazi and that’s why I say: The AfD is a Nazi party.”
Wüst also pointed out the special situation in Thuringia with a minority government. “As determined as I am in rejecting the AfD, I am also of the opinion that the AfD’s announced approval of a CDU proposal alone cannot lead to the CDU no longer making the right policies.” If an application were to be reflexively withdrawn just because there was a threat of AfD approval, then that would lead to incapacity for politics.
Source: Stern
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