The former President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maassen, is threatened with a party expulsion procedure from the CDU. A deadline set for him by the CDU presidium to leave the party of his own accord expired on Sunday afternoon. However, Maassen did not respond before the deadline. The federal office of the CDU Germany has no resignation from Maassen, said a CDU spokesman in Berlin on Sunday. In this case, the presidency announced on Monday a week ago that it would apply to the federal executive board to initiate an expulsion procedure and to apply for the immediate withdrawal of membership rights.
The reason for this step are repeated, controversial statements by Maassen. “Again and again he uses the language from the milieu of anti-Semites and conspiracy ideologues to ethnic expressions,” criticized the CDU presidium last week. Maassen violates “constantly against the principles and order of the party”. Among other things, Maassen had recently been elected chairman of the national conservative “Werte Union”. However, the CDU leadership recently made it clear that membership in the conservative “Values Union” is incompatible with membership in the CDU.
Shortly before 12 p.m. on Sunday, just a few minutes before the ultimatum expired, Maassen had spoken on Twitter of a “dirty campaign that had been going on for weeks” and thanked his supporters for their support. “Only headwind gives our cause a boost! I’m looking forward to it,” the message continued.
Maassen headed the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution from 2012 to 2018. He was placed on temporary retirement after controversial statements. Since then, his comments have repeatedly caused a stir. Most recently, for example, he explained in a tweet that the thrust of the “driving forces in the political and media space” was “eliminatory racism against whites”. In an interview, the 60-year-old spoke of a “red-green racial theory”. The CDU presidium said on Monday last week: “There is no place in our party for his statements and the ideas they express.”
Party leader Friedrich Merz initially hesitated to take the step because the hurdles for exclusion from the CDU are high. Similar proceedings in other parties have repeatedly proven to be lengthy and difficult, such as that of the SPD against former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder or that of the Greens against Tübingen Mayor Boris Palmer.
Saxony’s Prime Minister Kretschmer is critical of a possible party expulsion
In the CDU, a possible exclusion of Maassens therefore remains controversial. Saxony’s head of government, Michael Kretschmer, is skeptical. “I don’t think you have to exclude people from one day to the next,” Kretschmer said on Friday in the “Sächsische.de” political podcast. However, he could not explain what else Maaßen wanted in the CDU. “He never misses an opportunity to make it clear that he has nothing to do with what unites us here, what we want to achieve together,” explained Kretschmer.
The CDU member of the Bundestag and Vice-Chairman of the CDU Hessen, Michael Brand, calls for toughness. “With the clear decision against Maassen, the CDU has sent the right signal, for conservative and against extreme positions,” said Brand Süddeutsche Zeitung. Maassen had become excessive, intoxicated with himself and looking for applause at almost any price. “He shouldn’t be the martyr, he should be honest: he hasn’t been a CDU for a long time, he just wants to use the good name for himself for as long as possible,” criticized Brand. “It would be honest to finally go and try to do it decently instead of wanting to live on someone else’s political expenses.”