The historian Andreas Rödder had an interview in star sparked a heated debate about the CDU’s dealings with the AfD. He has now resigned from his position as head of the CDU Basic Values Commission.
The CDU has had a hard time dealing with him for a long time. But now there has been an open break between the Mainz historian Andreas Rödder and his party. On Wednesday it was announced that the CDU member was giving up his position as head of the Basic Values Commission. In a letter to CDU leader Friedrich Merz, which was first reported by the online portal “Nius”, Rödder justified his move by saying that he wanted to avoid “repeated misunderstandings about my role”. In the letter he also holds Merz personally responsible for his decision.
Several representatives of the CDU had his interview in star “deliberately misinterpreted,” writes Rödder. And further: “Against this background, you made it clear last Friday that I had to choose between my intellectual freedom and the leadership of the Basic Values Commission.” However, since freedom is the “non-negotiable basis of my political commitment as a Christian Democrat” for him as a scientist, he has no choice but to give up the post.
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In his letter, Rödder also rejected the accusation of having “abandoned the basic values of our party”: “I have done nothing other than think about constitutional options to free the CDU from its political defensive and to counter its threat from the AfD “. He complained that despite this, “leading representatives of the party continued to spread personal discredits and factual untruths” about him without being contradicted.
The trigger for the process was an interview. In it, the professor criticized “false firewalls to the right” and recommended his party change its strategy. You should not make your applications dependent on the behavior of the AfD. CDU minority governments with approval of the alternative are also conceivable if there is no prior agreement.
The background was a heated debate about the Thuringian CDU, which had brought a proposal to reduce the real estate transfer tax through the state parliament with votes from the AfD and was massively criticized for this by parts of the federal party.
Merz called Rödder’s move an “absolute no-go”
But while the Thuringians had also received approval for this, Rödder’s ideas were met with criticism throughout the party leadership. “Andreas Rödder does not speak for the CDU,” said General Secretary Carsten Linnemann to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. CDU leader Friedrich Merz called Rödder’s considerations for a minority government tolerated by the AfD “an absolute no-go,” he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung.” The chairman of the “Evangelical Working Group” of the Union parties, CDU MP Thomas Rachel, called for Rödder’s resignation as head of the Basic Values Commission.
Rödder’s work in this position had already ended in terms of content: the basic values commission had completed its work 15 months ago. The charter she presented was approved at the CDU federal party conference in Hanover in September 2022.
As chairman of a specialist commission, Rödder continued to be a member of the CDU’s higher-level program and policy commission. This will only be dissolved in January when the CDU federal executive board decides on the basic program at its meeting.
Rödder was also there when the program commission met with Merz and Linnemann in May for a special meeting in Konrad Adenauer’s holiday villa in Cadenabbia on Lake Como. After work, in the tradition of the former chancellor, we played a game of bocce together on the beautifully located, spacious grounds.
Rödder caused trouble a year and a half ago
Of course, there had already been dissatisfaction with Rödder before. In January 2022, the self-confident historian suggested that the “C” in the name might be dispensed with in order to appeal to non-Christian voters. Even then he met with massive rejection. Others in the party appreciated Rödder’s way of looking for unconventional approaches. With the think tank “Denkfabrik R21”, which he founded, he tried to appeal to the right wing of the Union with conferences on Corona policy and freedom of expression and academic freedom. He repeatedly made it clear that he thought little of Merkel’s course of “social democratization” of the CDU.
The party says he has damaged the CDU with his recent statements. Worse still: even after the criticism was loud, he showed no insight whatsoever. Officially, General Secretary Linnemann Rödder thanked Rödder for the work he had done and expressed his wish that he would “continue to be involved in our party”. After all the quarrels, there isn’t much evidence that Rödder really intends to do this.
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.
