CDU presses Greens and SPD to distance themselves from Left over Pantisano's fascism comparison

Wegner presses coalition partners

Kai Wegner, the CDU politician who serves as Governing Mayor of Berlin, told the Rheinische Post that Pantisano's statements are symptomatic of a Left party that has been increasingly radicalizing for years. Wegner said: "Die Äußerungen von Herrn Pantisano stehen symptomatisch für eine Linkspartei, die sich seit Jahren zunehmend radikalisiert und sich immer weiter von einem demokratischen Diskurs entfernt." He added that equating the CDU with the AfD abandons the ground of serious political debate and reflected a party that "auch in ihren Reihen Antisemiten und Polizeihasser duldet."

Wegner also turned his fire on the potential coalition partners of the CDU. "Grüne und SPD müssen sich fragen lassen, wo ihre eigene Brandmauer gegen politischen Extremismus steht," he said, pressing the Greens and the Social Democrats to state where their own firewall against extremism stands. The CDU and CSU have repeatedly stressed that they will not cooperate at the federal level with either the AfD on the right or Die Linke on the left.

Calls for resignation from CDU and CSU

Politicians from both the CDU and the CSU have gone further, openly calling for Pantisano to step down. CDU General Secretary Linnemann rejected Pantisano's apology and demanded that Die Linke distance itself from the remarks. Speaking to Bild, Linnemann said it was an impertinence to describe the statement as "shortened." "Von 'verkürzt' zu sprechen, ist eine Unverschämtheit," he said, adding: "Die Aussage von Herrn Pantisano war glasklar. Jetzt versucht er sich rauszuwinden." CSU General Secretary Huber also called for Pantisano's resignation. Schleswig-Holstein Minister-President Daniel Günther told Bild that anyone equating the CDU with fascists and the AfD has disqualified themselves from any serious democratic exchange, calling the comparison "geschichtsvergessen."

Pantisano's apology

Pantisano apologized on Monday, telling the German Press Agency (dpa) that his remark had been "verkürzt und in dieser Form falsch" and that the distinction between democratic opponents and forces seeking to abolish democracy must not be blurred. He nonetheless said his fundamental criticism of the CDU's rightward course "bleibt davon unberührt." In his Bild interview he had also said of a possible further rapprochement between CDU and AfD: "Diese Entwicklung bereitet mir große Sorgen."

Criticism from inside Die Linke

The controversy has also caused irritation inside Die Linke itself. Eva von Angern, the party's top candidate and parliamentary group leader in Saxony-Anhalt, told MDR AKTUELL that Pantisano's narrow victory at the federal congress was in part a response from East German state associations to his CDU remarks. She said Die Linke must remain willing to talk and compromise despite political differences in order to keep the AfD away from political responsibility, and described his statement as "inakzeptabel." Criticism of Pantisano came especially from East Germany, including from within his own party.

Reactions in Saxony-Anhalt

Gregor Gysi, a prominent Die Linke politician, told MDR AKTUELL that it was correct for Pantisano to retract the statement but that it should never have been made. He said equating the CDU and AfD with fascists "bagatellisiere den nationalsozialistischen Terror" and called the remark "völlig daneben," while stressing that the CDU and CSU belong to the democratic spectrum of society.

In Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU reacted through both its parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer and its Secretary General Mario Karschunke. Heuer called the statement an "Unding" and questioned Pantisano's understanding of democracy. Karschunke said: "Wer demokratische Parteien pauschal mit Faschisten gleichsetze, verharmlose echten Extremismus und überschreite eine Grenze des respektvollen politischen Miteinanders." The CDU in Saxony-Anhalt reaffirmed that it cooperates with neither right-wing nor left-wing extremists. The report was broadcast on Deutschlandfunk on 23 June 2026.

Linnemann made his rejection of the apology to Bild, while Günther made his remarks to the same newspaper. The CDU's renewed Unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss debate comes as Pantisano, narrowly elected as co-chair on Sunday, prepares to lead Die Linke alongside his co-chair. The episode has put pressure on the Greens and SPD to clarify how they will work with a Left party whose new leadership has begun its term under a cloud.