Maassen’s expulsion from the party: worth every effort

Despite clear words from the party leadership, Maassen did not voluntarily resign from the CDU. The party exclusion process that has now been initiated can be lengthy – and a crucial test for the CDU

The CDU has a long rocky road ahead of it. The party leadership only needed ten minutes to decide on an exclusion procedure against Maassen. It may take the CDU years to complete this path. But it is worth every effort because it is about the fundamental values ​​of the party.

CDU party leader Friedrich Merz has loudly announced a clear firewall against the right. So far, however, he has always sent his Secretary General Mario Czaja forward when things got uncomfortable. For example, when a CDU district administrator in Saxony stirred up prejudice against the accommodation of refugees. Merz is also stubbornly silent about various contacts between the AfD and the CDU at district level.

Now the party leader has to prove how serious he is about setting the course. Inevitably, the CDU will get some bruises along the way.

Maassen could stage himself as a “martyr”.

The 26-page pamphlet with which the former head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maassen, is a harbinger of this. Maassen complains about a campaign against him that is intended to cement “left-green forces in the CDU”. He does not see his statements as a problem for the party, but the criticism of them.

So the concern is justified that Maassen could present himself as a “martyr”. It is foreseeable that he will legally use all conceivable feints. But the CDU must hold its breath. Because the damage would be greater if Maassen, as a CDU member, continued to spread right-wing conspiracy theories. And that’s exactly what he’s doing when he whispers about an alleged policy designed to lead to the extinction of white people.

The party must clearly mark out milestones

To make matters worse, the CDU does not only have to deal with Maaßen. His fans are waiting along the way – whether in the Thuringian district association or in the value union. The CDU leadership would like to gain as much distance as possible from this association, but 80 percent of the members come from the party. And the Value Union is reporting about the influx right now.

These tendencies must really worry the CDU. Because it may be a minority, but there is support in the CDU for Maassen and his statements. So the question is who the party is taking with it on this journey – and who it might be leaving behind. The CDU must talk openly about this, at a party conference, in small, grass-roots groups.

Because if too many scrape along the right edge, the firewall could shake. And that would be worse for the CDU than a few big chunks on an arduous path that one sometimes stumbles over. If the CDU wants to be credible in pursuing its course, it must clearly mark its course – even beyond the Maassen case.