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CDU Secretary-General Linnemann
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Helmut Fricke / dpa
The CDU has announced harsh consequences against party members if they took part in the secret meeting of AfD politicians and right-wing extremists on the expulsion of people with a migration background. If CDU members belonging to the Union of Values were present there, the party would "react harshly and consistently," said CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann.
"Anyone who shares or supports this is seriously violating the principles of our party," wrote Paul Ziemiak, a CDU member of the Bundestag and general secretary of North Rhine-Westphalia, on X. A party exclusion procedure would be initiated in this case. "Such ideas are not tolerated in our country and are rejected in all consequence."
The chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalian CDU district association Oberberg, Carsten Brodesser, confirmed to the dpa news agency that at least one member had taken part in the Potsdam meeting. The latter now has until the next board meeting of the district association on January 26 to comment.
According to research by the Correctiv network that became known on Wednesday, AfD politicians, neo-Nazis and entrepreneurs met near Potsdam in November 2023 to discuss the expulsion of millions of people with a history of immigration from Germany. Among the participants were AfD politicians and at least one CDU member, as well as members of the arch-conservative "Union of Values", which does not belong to the CDU but has long felt connected to it.
JU attests to the "Union of Values" a "disturbing worldview"
According to dpa information, another woman from North Rhine-Westphalia, who is said to have taken part in the Potsdam meeting, resigned on Friday from the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT) NRW - a party branch of the CDU. MIT country director Stefan Simmnacher told the »Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung« that consequences had been examined, but the issue had been settled by the voluntary resignation. According to dpa information, the woman is a deputy on the board of the "Werteunion" NRW and in the MIT – without being a member of the party.
Secretary-General Linnemann said at the start of a closed-door meeting of the CDU federal executive committee that this was currently being examined. He called the incidents "inhumane", "frightening" and "oblivious to history". Accordingly, the party executive committee will deal with the events at the meeting. The chairman of the Junge Union, Johannes Winkel, accused the "Union of Values" of a "disturbing worldview". In the editorial network Germany, he reiterated his demand to the CDU for an incompatibility decision.
Faeser calls for demarcation to the right
"I am shocked if it is true that members of democratic parties may also have participated," said SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich in Berlin. "Democratic parties must stay away from this brown swamp," he continued, without naming the CDU directly. Mützenich announced that the SPD also wanted to make the secret meeting an issue in the Bundestag.
AfD and right-wing extremism: Wake up! A commentary by Melanie Amann
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) called on the CDU to clearly demarcate itself to the right. She told the Frankfurter Rundschau that the defense of democracy was "first and foremost a political dispute" that "all democrats must face." The CDU leadership could be much clearer here," Faeser warned.
The revelation of the Potsdam secret meeting also fuelled the debate about a ban on the AfD or a ban on its youth organisation Junge Alternative. Thuringia's president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stephan Krüger, however, expressed restraint in the »Handelsblatt«. Bavaria's president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Burkhard Körner, also referred to "very high hurdles" for a ban on Bavarian Radio. A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior did not want to comment on the Young Alternative on Friday. "The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is keeping an eye on these things," she said.
Peter Kurth dismissed as head of BDE
According to SPIEGEL information, the former Berlin CDU politician Peter Kurth was also host to right-wing extremists. From 1999 to 2001, Kurth was Berlin's Senator for Finance. The Berlin CDU distanced itself from Kurth. "It is frightening and sad at the same time what path Peter Kurth has taken," wrote Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) on X. "Anyone who makes a pact with neo-Nazis, right-wing extremists and other misanthropes has no place in the CDU."
In response to the SPIEGEL investigation, the waste management industry association BDE, which Kurth had headed since 2008, announced on Friday evening that it had parted ways with the previous boss with immediate effect. "Right-wing extremism, racism or anti-Semitism have no place in the BDE," the statement reads. "We distance ourselves from any forces that threaten our liberal basic order."
mgo/AFP/dpa