When the CDU met for its board meeting in Heidelberg at the beginning of the year, the future dealings with the AfD was one of the central topics of discussion. No wonder: in the three eastern German states where elections will take place in the fall, the right-wing party is currently ahead in the polls. The CDU follows in second place in Saxony and Thuringia, and in Brandenburg, depending on the survey, sometimes in third place, which is why the question of how to deal with the AfD in the election campaign has a certain urgency for the Christian Democrats.
The Thuringian CDU state leader Mario Voigt said in Heidelberg: “We must not shy away from the substantive debate.” Now, almost two months later, he has put this perspective into practice by wanting to take part in a television duel with the Thuringian AfD leader Björn Höcke on April 11th. “Because it’s about the future of my homeland, I’m fighting and looking for a confrontation with Höcke,” he says South German newspaper.
“We have to look for a tough argument on the matter,” says Voigt
He will no longer accept that the “alleged alternative” exploits people’s justified frustration and makes political capital out of it. “The previous methods of dealing with the AfD have failed.” Something has to change in the country and that includes not avoiding problems. “We have to bring the AfD into the light and look for a tough argument on the matter.”
Ultimately, Voigt’s decision can also be seen as a translation of the stage instructions that the party leader himself had issued: “We will go into these elections with a very clear and tough fight, especially against the AfD,” Friedrich Merz said in Heidelberg. Perhaps, in retrospect, Voigt’s television duel will prove to be a kind of first test balloon for this strategy.
In any case, Voigt receives support from the federal party. “It is right that Mario Voigt is using all his strength to seek a tough substantive debate with Mr. Höcke,” says Julia Klöckner, CDU treasurer and as such a member of the presidium of the SZ. “The AfD’s policies that endanger prosperity and undermine democracy must be made visible in the factual debate,” says Klöckner. Avoiding any factual discussion has “not clearly worked” in recent years.
So far, it has failed to “effectively” support the AfD
Another member of the presidium emphasized that in Thuringia only the CDU could probably succeed in preventing the AfD from becoming the strongest force. The firewall against the AfD must be in place, and the party must also be clearly identified as right-wing radical. In addition, a content-related debate must also be held – for example about what the AfD’s European policy plans would mean for medium-sized businesses in Thuringia.
Manuel Hagel, CDU state chairman and parliamentary group leader in Baden-Württemberg, sees it similarly. The truth is, he tells the SZ, that the attempts in recent years to form the AfD have been “not effective.” “That’s why we need a more effective strategic approach in the fight against the AfD.”
Karin Prien, deputy CDU federal chairwoman and Schleswig-Holstein education minister, also believes Voigt’s decision was right: “In Schleswig-Holstein we did very well by not giving the AfD any space for its self-expression.”
“But the situation is not comparable,” Prien points out: In Thuringia, unlike in Schleswig-Holstein, the AfD is “unfortunately a fixture in the political spectrum, and in my opinion the only way to counter it is to counteract its right-wing extremism “Ideology is exposed by showing people that Höcke will harm them and their country.”