CDU Economic Wing in Brandenburg Weakens Its Own Motion on the AfD

CDU General Secretary Julian Brüning confirmed the details of the decision to the press. He made clear: 'Vertrauen gewinnt die CDU Brandenburg nicht durch Annäherung an die AfD, sondern durch eigene Stärke, klare Positionen und konkrete Lösungen. Die AfD ist für uns kein Partner und diese Haltung teilt auch die Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion Brandenburg.' Separately, he stressed: 'Die AfD ist für uns kein Partner.'

Content of the Revised Version

In substantive terms, the revised version calls on the state executive of CDU Brandenburg to push within the federal party 'für eine sachorientierte politische Debattenkultur einzusetzen, in der politische Entscheidungen auf Grundlage von Inhalten getroffen werden'. The political dispute with the AfD should take place 'auf der Grundlage ihrer Programme, Anträge und ihres konkreten politischen Handelns'. The introduction also states: 'Politische Positionen sind am eigenen Grundsatzprogramm und dem Wohl des Landes auszurichten, ohne vorab taktische Rücksichten auf die mögliche Zustimmung oder Ablehnung zu nehmen.'

MIT state chief Eckehard Frisch spoke after the vote of a 'lebhaften und konstruktiven Austausch'. According to the Mittelstandsunion's internal reading, the new wording leaves room for the AfD to vote in the Bundestag in the future also for CDU-sponsored motions, something that had not previously been envisaged. This interpretation is controversial within the party.

Line of the Federal Party and Local Grey Areas

With its vote, the CDU's economic wing in Brandenburg is largely following the course set by the federal party around Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the state association. The basic line thus remains: no formal cooperation with the AfD – combined with substantive engagement. At its 2018 federal party conference in Hamburg, the CDU had already resolved: 'Die CDU Deutschlands lehnt Koalitionen und ähnliche Formen der Zusammenarbeit sowohl mit der Linkspartei als auch mit der Alternative für Deutschland ab.'

That grey areas nonetheless exist is shown by an earlier CDU paper on the stance toward the Left and the AfD: it notes that, despite a fundamental rejection of cooperation, there are isolated forms of cooperation at the municipal level. The tension between this finding and the clear incompatibility resolution has since been a point of dispute within the party.

Political Context Ahead of State Elections

Against the backdrop of the broader political climate, the debate carries additional weight: in current Sunday polls, the AfD is ahead of the Union. In September, state elections are also due in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – constellations in which the question of how to deal with the strongest opposition party gains practical significance.

The AfD is currently classified by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected case; the party has also filed suit against its classification as a confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor at the federal level. These classifications form the backdrop against which intra-party discussions about the 'Brandmauer' within the CDU are being conducted.

Despite the majority vote for the watered-down version, the substantive debate within the economic wing over the right course toward the AfD continues. Observers assess the decision as an attempt to settle the internal conflict without abandoning the party's formal line.