The General Secretary of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Carsten Linnemann, has firmly rejected any prospect of normalizing relations with the Left Party (Die Linke). In comments published Saturday, Linnemann stated the Left Party has consistently failed to sufficiently distance itself from radical ideologies.
He specifically highlighted growing concerns about antisemitic tendencies within the party, characterizing the combination of increasing antisemitism and a commitment to socialism as fundamentally opposed to the values of the CDU. He reaffirmed the party’s existing resolution barring cooperation with both the Left Party and the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Linnemann also expressed reservations regarding the agreement between the governing coalition of CDU/CSU, Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens to reform Germany’s debt brake. He cautioned that a successful reform, requiring a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag, would necessitate votes from parties like the Left Party or the AfD. He stressed that a reform is not a foregone conclusion and indicated the Union faction believes the debt brake could remain in its current form.
Regarding the recent parliamentary process for selecting judges to the Federal Constitutional Court, where the CDU/CSU initially withdrew support for a candidate, Linnemann voiced optimism that a consensus candidate will ultimately secure the necessary broad parliamentary support. While acknowledging the need for a two-thirds majority, he declined to detail how such a majority would be achieved, explicitly ruling out any negotiations with the AfD.
The selection of the sixteen judges to the Federal Constitutional Court is jointly conducted by the Bundestag and the Bundesrat (the upper house of the German Parliament). Requiring a two-thirds majority in both houses, a historically established informal agreement based on party size has guided the distribution of judicial appointments. Following the recent federal elections, the combined parliamentary strength of the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens, alongside the Free Democratic Party (FDP), no longer guarantees a two-thirds majority, meaning the support of either the Left Party or the AfD is now needed to select judges in the Bundestag.
