Rare sanity in the CDU. It desperately needs to be "deMerckelised" as the USSR was "DeStalinised" or it may disappear at the next election.
From The European Conservative
By Javier Villamor
Amid growing internal dissent, the CDU faces mounting pressure to revise its strategy and reconnect with its disillusioned base.
A senior figure in Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is calling for a rethink of the party’s approach to the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Mathias Middelberg, the deputy leader of the CDU parliamentary group, has said the party should take a more pragmatic approach, and suggested that the AfD should be allowed to take positions in parliamentary committees.
“For example, withholding committee chairs from the AfD will not shrink this party. On the contrary, it allows the AfD to cultivate its victim status,” Middelberg said. A more effective approach would be for the CDU to adopt successful policies in areas such as asylum or social benefits.
German politics has long been marked by an unspoken pact between traditional center-right parties, such as the CDU, and the Left to keep the AfD out of power. This “firewall,” is now slowly crumbling as many in the CDU come to terms with the fact that they are going to have to work with the AfD. Growing internal discord, defections to the AfD, and public pressure are also causing many in the CDU to reconsider their stance.
The party’s base also feels increasingly disconnected from decisions made in Berlin. A local branch in Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, has openly rebelled against the “firewall.”
The branch’s resolution states that the CDU has “clearly lost the election in the East,” referring to the surge in popularity for the AfD in former East Germany.
The Harz branch called for the party to distance itself from the legacy of former Chancellor Angela Merkel: “The mistakes and omissions in CDU policy under Chancellor Angela Merkel should be clearly identified and openly addressed.”
The future of the CDU depends on its ability to reconnect with its roots and listen to the demands of its base. As the Harz branch pointed out, “There is massive discontent at the CDU base.” Ignoring the discontent within the party and clinging to an outdated “firewall” could lead to its disappearance as a dominant political force in Germany. If the CDU fails to adapt to the changes in German society, it may discover too late that the AfD has filled the space it left vacant.
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