Adrian Hepp, a co-author of a strongly worded open letter directed at Friedrich Merz, is threatening to encourage party members to leave the CDU if the party’s current policies do not change. The letter, signed by 33 CDU members from Brandenburg, calls for increased leadership, greater self-criticism, and clearer answers from Merz concerning the direction of the CDU, according to reports from the news outlet Welt.
Hepp shared with the broadcaster that the members have long been frustrated by various aspects of the federal CDU. Now, however, they are seriously considering withdrawing their support. He argues that the federal party’s platform can barely be presented as authentic CDU politics at the local level. In fact, voters are approaching these members and stating that they no longer vote for the CDU nationally, but rather support the individual representatives in their locality because they are reliable and consistently adhere to traditional CDU values. The problem, he states, is that they feel they may eventually be unable to continue under the CDU banner. This sentiment is exactly what the 33 members expressed through their signature. While they remain registered members, these 33 individuals are prepared to announce the end of their long-standing membership if their concerns are ignored.
Fundamentally, Hepp points out that the letter writers were previously Merz supporters, making the current decline in ideological substance all the more painful. “We miss our CDU politics,” he said. “We miss the courage to implement CDU politics, to assert ourselves within the parliamentary group as the strongest force, as Chancellor.” They feel the CDU has ceased to advance its key issues meaningfully.
He offered a specific critique of local campaigning, citing the election in Saxony-Anhalt. According to Hepp, the entire campaign was focused on attacking the AfD, engaging in nonstop “AfD-bashing.” He claims that local party members became fully absorbed in this constant attack, losing sight of the CDU’s “real issues.” He insists that the leadership must take charge and require that future election campaigns prioritize advancing genuine CDU issues rather than being lost in attacks against the political opposition.
Hepp also noted that the critical letter has received a remarkable amount of support from AfD voters. He stated that in the past 24 hours, he received numerous emails and messages from former CDU voters and from AfD voters who explicitly congratulated him on taking this step. This feedback confirms, he insists, that there is a definite trend of voter migration.
He concluded by reflecting on past local successes, noting that they achieved a strong stance and prevented the establishment of an AfD branch in their area of Großbeeren. He expressed a wish that this spirit of being able to win back voters from the AfD and bring them back to the CDU could be replicated across all of Brandenburg. At the time of the interview, he had not received any response from Merz or the CDU headquarters located in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus.
