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🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

Brandenburg CDU business wing largely rejects lifting 'firewall' against AfD

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Brandenburg branch of the CDU's business association (Mittelstandsunion) has largely rejected a proposal to lift the "firewall" against the far-right AfD party.
  • The decision maintains the federal CDU leadership's stance against cooperation with the AfD, emphasizing that political debate should be based on content and actions.
  • The association stated that cooperation with the AfD is impossible as long as the party does not curb its nationalist elements.

The business wing of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Brandenburg has largely upheld the party's "firewall" policy, rejecting a motion that would have eased restrictions on engagement with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The state board of the Mittelstandsunion Brandenburg, the CDU's association for small and medium-sized businesses, voted to reject the proposal to lift the "unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss" – a resolution barring cooperation with the AfD.

This decision aligns the Brandenburg chapter with the federal CDU leadership, headed by Friedrich Merz, and the state party organization. While some elements of the original motion were retained, the core demand for ending the exclusion of the AfD was dropped. The revised resolution calls on the CDU to advocate for a "fact-oriented political debate culture" within the federal party, where political decisions are based on substance and engagement with the AfD occurs through analysis of its programs and actions.

The AfD is not a partner for us.

— Julian BrüningCDU General Secretary Julian Brüning affirmed the party's stance on the AfD.

The Mittelstandsunion Brandenburg also stipulated a condition for any potential future collaboration, stating that "as long as the AfD does not want or cannot curb its nationalist wings, there is no foundation for cooperation." CDU General Secretary Julian Brüning reiterated the party's firm stance, declaring, "The AfD is not a partner for us." This sentiment was echoed by the state chairman of the Mittelstandsunion, who described the exchange as "lively and constructive."

The initial proposal, put forth by two vice-chairmen of the Mittelstandsunion Brandenburg, Ferdinand Fiedler and Frank Goral, had called for the CDU state association to push for a revision or complete annulment of the federal CDU's resolution against cooperating with the AfD. The debate surrounding engagement with the AfD has intensified ahead of the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September, where the AfD currently leads in opinion polls.

As long as the AfD does not want or cannot curb its nationalist wings, there is no foundation for cooperation.

— Mittelstandsunion Brandenburg resolutionThe resolution outlined conditions for potential future cooperation with the AfD.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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