CDU leadership rules out cooperation with the AfD in eastern Germany

Background: Dispute from Saxony-Anhalt

Against the backdrop of this debate, Frei also commented on the personnel situation at the top of the federal government and with the coalition partner SPD. He acknowledged that the personnel change made by Chancellor Friedrich Merz had not gone as one would have wished. "The parliamentary group leader admitted that the personnel change made by Merz had not gone as one would have wished, but that this was simply due to the circumstances. Merz had had to make decisions in a very short time, which in turn had triggered others. Externally, an image had arisen as if the broader strategy were missing," the broadcast stated.

Frei also defended Merz's approach. He had to act under time pressure; the rapid decisions had triggered further steps. The Union parliamentary group now wants to consistently continue on its chosen course and thereby also readjust cooperation with the SPD.

Personnel debate surrounding Merz

In terms of content, the federal CDU sees the issue primarily as one of democratic reliability. It would not feel bound by resolutions that are called into question by parts of the party, it was said in party circles. The CDU wants to prevent the bourgeois camp from continuing to disintegrate and the AfD from further entrenching itself as a supposed protest force in the eastern federal states.

At the same time, Frei warned against the substantive debate being overshadowed by the personnel debate. The Union parliamentary group must put its political work, for example on economic and security policy, at the forefront. Only in this way can the trust of voters, which was lost through the recent changes, be regained.

The SPD initially responded cautiously to the demands of the federal CDU. It noted the clarification but wanted to continue to conduct cooperation in the government in a fact-oriented manner, it was said from the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. At the same time, it was expected that the SPD would take a clearer stance in the coming days.

Outlook: Deliberation in the Party Executive Committee

Observers see the renewed discussion as a sign of the ongoing tension between the CDU federal party and its eastern German state associations. While the federal party under Merz seeks a clear break with the AfD, individual state politicians in the East see the need to act more pragmatically at the municipal level in order to remain capable of acting.

The federal CDU announced that it would address the issue at a meeting of the party executive committee in the coming weeks. The goal is to adopt a uniform line and consistently punish violations of the existing resolutions. Frei spoke of a "question of political credibility" that must not be put off.