Several East German CDU politicians have spoken out in favor of reconsidering how to deal with the AfD. The parliamentary group leader in the Thuringian state parliament, Andreas Bühl, told the "Bild" newspaper: "If a law that was found to be correct based on objective considerations and after democratic deliberation also meets with approval from the political fringes, that is no reason to revise it." Those who base their policies solely on who approves of them are confusing morality with politics.
Member of the Bundestag Ludwig: Allow majorities for motions
Brandenburg CDU member of the Bundestag Saskia Ludwig also called for a different approach to the AfD. "That means first granting it democratic rights such as committee chairs and vice presidents. That already exists in the federal states." It is not about a coalition, "but about allowing majorities for good proposals".
A debate about how to deal with and cooperate with the AfD flared up again in the CDU/CSU at the beginning of the week. Formerly influential CDU politicians, including former CDU Secretary General Peter Tauber and former Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU), spoke out in favour of relaxing the firewall against the AfD. The CDU and CSU party leaderships categorically reject such considerations.
AfD: firewall is a "mockery of the will of the voters"
The AfD parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament described the firewall as a "mockery of the will of the voters". "Two thirds of Saxons want a bourgeois-conservative political turnaround. However, as long as the CDU sticks to its coalition agreement with the SPD, which rules out a search for parliamentary majorities with the AfD, it is making itself dependent on the left-wing bloc," explained party and parliamentary group leader Jörg Urban.
On Sunday and Monday, the CDU leadership will discuss the issue at a closed meeting in Berlin - especially with a view to the five state elections next year. These include two in eastern German states - Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - where the AfD is now by far the strongest party in polls with figures of around 40 percent.
