Former CDU East Spokesperson Marco Wanderwitz has criticized the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt regarding its change in approach to motions submitted by the AfD party. The state parliament faction has indicated it might approve proposals put forward by the AfD parliamentary group.
“Although I am no longer an active politician, as a CDU member I state clearly that supporting AfD motions is incompatible with the CDU’s fundamental decisions and its membership,” the former member of the Bundestag told Focus. Wanderwitz added that according to the Constitutional Protection Office, the AfD is reliably far-right in Saxony-Anhalt, finding the constant need to debate the party’s boundaries “bitter.”
The CDU faction in Saxony-Anhalt no longer intends to fundamentally reject AfD motions. Faction leader Sven Schulze told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung that decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, with the criterion being solely whether a proposal benefits the state.
CDU Member of European Parliament Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker is also criticizing her party colleagues in Saxony-Anhalt. The legal expert told Focus that her view is that cooperation doesn’t only begin with a formal coalition, but when a minority AfD government can use Union votes to push through its agenda, even just case by case. The CDU politician warned that the impact goes far beyond implementing specific technical points; doing so would support a government formed by a party categorized by the Constitutional Protection Office as reliably far-right, whose program is incompatible with the core values of the Union.
