Despite warnings from the CDU: Otte accepts AfD nomination

Values ​​union chairman Otte accepted the AfD’s nomination as federal presidential candidate – despite warnings from his own party. This asks him to leave the CDU. Otte refuses.

The head of the right-wing conservative value union, Max Otte, wants to run for the office of Federal President for the AfD. “I’m happy to accept the AfD’s nomination,” said the CDU politician to “Spiegel” and added: “I consider the proposal a great honor.” He also told the newspaper “Die Welt” that he agreed to the nomination.

He sees the AfD “clearly on the ground of the Basic Law,” said Otte. Therefore “a CDU exclusion procedure against me would not only be incomprehensible, but also incompatible with democratic principles”. “The warnings from the CDU played no role in his decision-making.” Otte signaled that in the event of a party order procedure, it would be important. “I will not voluntarily leave the CDU,” he said.

The Cologne CDU has already announced that it will initiate party exclusion proceedings against Otte. The district association decided that together with the state association and the federal party, said a spokeswoman.

CDU demands exit from the party

The CDU leadership had asked Otte to leave the party after he had initially not contradicted the nomination by the AfD and said he was thinking “intensely” about it. Anyone who is even considering such a thing as a Christian Democrat “is violating the values ​​of the CDU and has no place in our party,” said the incumbent General Secretary Paul Ziemiak together with his successor Mario Czaja at a press conference. “We also expressly call on Dr. Otte to leave the CDU.”

The CDU leadership gave Otte an ultimatum until 5:30 p.m. to explain himself. “No one called me,” said Otte. “I would certainly take a call and react accordingly.” At 6 p.m., the federal executive board wants to discuss the further procedure, Czaja announced. A possible party exclusion procedure is “clearly included”.

Ziemiak underlined that the first statement on the Otte case had been coordinated with the outgoing CDU chairman Armin Laschet, his successor Friedrich Merz and the state association of North Rhine-Westphalia and Otte’s Cologne CDU district association. Laschet himself had previously written on Twitter: “Being nominated by the AfD as a presidential candidate is not an honor, but a disgrace. Anyone who even considers this as a Christian Democrat damages the reputation of the Union, violates its values ​​and has no place in the CDU. ”

“Party-damaging behavior”

The parliamentary manager of the Union faction in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei (CDU), described a candidacy for another party, especially for the AfD, as “absolutely out of the question”. Such “party-damaging behavior” must necessarily lead to an exclusion, he said.

CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt also suggested that Otte leave the party. He expects that after Otte did not immediately actively contradict the AfD’s request.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister and CDU state leader Hendrik Wüst also spoke out in favor of an exclusion procedure in the event of a candidacy and calls on the politician to leave. “He hasn’t lost anything with us,” he told the “Rheinische Post”.

Criticism of Otte for a long time

Internal critics have long accused Otte of wanting to move the union of values ​​to the right and open it to the AfD. According to its own statements, the Union of Values ​​has around 4,000 members and sees itself as representing the conservative current in the Union, but is not an official party organization. Otte announced in an interview in 2017 that he wanted to vote for the AfD in the federal elections – also because of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s (CDU) course. Until January 2021, the fund manager was chairman of the board of trustees of the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation, which is close to the AfD.