CDU debates course after AfD gains
Germany’s Christian Democrats are seeking a response to election defeats and the debate over co-operation with the AfD.
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The CDU begins a two-day meeting of its party executive on Sunday to discuss its course after three disappointing state elections. Opinions within the party are divided: some want to maintain the distance from the AfD, while others believe the so-called Brandmauer is becoming politically untenable. No decision on co-operation is yet on the agenda.
The party leadership is meeting as the CDU lost three state elections in September. In Saxony-Anhalt, the party fell from 19.9 to 17.2 per cent, according to Tagesschau. In Berlin, the CDU came second with 18.8 per cent, while in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania it disappeared from parliament. The party therefore wants to reconnect with everyday concerns, such as the high cost of housing, heating and groceries.
The debate has been sharpened by the election of AfD politician Tobias Rausch as president of the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. Rausch received more votes in the secret ballot than the AfD and its well-known ally BSW had together. This led to suspicions that CDU delegates had also voted for Rausch. Because the ballot was secret, it cannot be established who cast which vote.
CDU leaders have formally ruled out co-operation with the AfD. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that voting for the AfD is incompatible with his party’s values. At the same time, Manfred Weber, a CSU member and leader of the European People’s Party group in the European Parliament, called for the Brandmauer to be ended. In his view, the arrangement hampers the CDU’s ability to form majorities in regional parliaments.
The issue also affects the federal government. The CDU governs in Berlin together with the SPD. Social Democrats fear that local co-operation or confidence-and-supply support for the AfD could undermine the coalition agreements. The SPD has publicly called for clarification about the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. The CDU parliamentary group there is divided, according to German media, but no formal split or new coalition has yet been announced.
The party leadership is seeking to link the debate to a broader recovery plan. Secretary-General Franziska Hoppermann warned that the meeting would not produce a quick solution. Parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei describes the circumstances facing the CDU as exceptionally difficult, but wants to continue the existing course. Other party figures believe instead that the government should explain reforms better and make their effects on households more visible.
For German politics, more is therefore at stake than a single regional vote. The AfD has built up electoral power in eastern Germany, while the CDU wants to retain its role as the centre-right governing party. The meeting may change the party’s tone, but it will not yet answer whether the CDU is shifting to the right in substance or instead widening its institutional distance from the AfD.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The CDU lost three state elections in September.
- An AfD politician became president of the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt after a secret ballot.
- It has not been established which CDU delegates voted for him.
- Within the CDU there are both supporters of maintaining a firm distance from the AfD and supporters of less strict political exclusion.
- The federal government consists of the CDU and SPD.
Left
Arguments The CDU must maintain its institutional distance from the AfD. A party regarded under this approach as far right must not be normalised through loose majorities or regional arrangements; centre parties must visibly uphold their democratic boundaries.
Values Protection of the democratic rule of law, minorities and historical responsibility.
Consequences A firm boundary may cost the CDU electoral space, but in this view it prevents the AfD from gaining influence without bearing governing responsibility itself.
Centre
Arguments The CDU must remain capable of governing while setting out its own boundaries. This means concrete agreements on votes, transparency about co-operation and a programme that tackles everyday problems without automatically making the AfD the sole opposition.
Values Institutional stability, practicality and compromise within democratic rules.
Consequences A procedural middle course may protect coalitions, but it may also be insufficiently clear for voters expecting a principled choice.
Right
Arguments The Brandmauer excludes a large part of the electorate in advance and sometimes forces the CDU into majorities with left-wing parties. The party should assess policy proposals case by case and more clearly take up concerns about migration, security and the cost of living.
Values The voters’ mandate, political competition and order.
Consequences More room for substantive alignment with the AfD could bring voters back to the CDU, but it increases the risk of dependence on a party with which co-operation has officially been ruled out.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The reporting is based on Tagesschau and Deutsche Welle and clearly distinguishes between established voting results and suspicions about individual CDU votes. The party meeting is not yet a final decision-making stage.
- confirmed The CDU is discussing its course on Sunday and Monday after three lost state elections. — Tagesschau reports the two-day meeting and the election defeats. source
- confirmed The CDU won 17.2 per cent in Saxony-Anhalt and 18.8 per cent in Berlin. — These results appear in current Tagesschau reporting. source
- confirmed Tobias Rausch of the AfD became president of the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. — Reported by Deutsche Welle and Tagesschau. source
- confirmed The secret ballot produced more votes than the AfD and BSW had together. — The vote distribution is described by Deutsche Welle. source
- confirmed Manfred Weber called for the Brandmauer to be ended. — Tagesschau reports his position in the internal CDU debate. source
- confirmed It has not been established which CDU delegates voted for Rausch. — The ballot was secret; the sources speak of suspicions, not identified voters. source
Editor's note
The election results, the secret ballot and the internal positions have been confirmed. The meeting begins on Sunday; there is still no definitive decision on the Brandmauer or a change of government.Sources
- Vor Klausur des CDU-Präsidiums: CDU sucht den Weg aus der Krise — Tagesschau
- CDU-Stimmen für die AfD in Sachsen-Anhalt? SPD ist empört — Deutsche Welle
- AfD assume pela 1ª vez comando de uma Assembleia Legislativa — Deutsche Welle
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