Chairman of the Union of Values
Otte accepts AfD nomination for presidential candidacy
Max Otte is head of the conservative value union.
© Karlheinz Schindler / Picture Alliance
The AfD has nominated the controversial CDU politician Max Otte as a candidate for the office of Federal President. That could mean expulsion from his party for him – but he still wants to accept the AfD’s offer.
The CDU leadership is demanding his exit from the party and is even considering expulsion – but Max Otte, federal chairman of the arch-conservative Values Union, wants to accept the AfD’s nomination as a candidate for the office of Federal President. “I consider the AfD’s nomination to be a great honor and I’m happy to accept it,” said Otte on Tuesday “World”. “The office is independent of parties, you shouldn’t look at the office from a party-political point of view.” He will run with the topics of social affairs as well as civil and fundamental rights.
Shortly before, the CDU leadership had asked the controversial politician to leave the party. “Whoever does this as a Christian Democrat who is even considering being nominated by the AfD for the office of Federal President, violates the values of the CDU and has no place in our party,” said General Secretary Paul Ziemiak. “We also expressly call for Dr. Otte to leave the CDU.” The CDU leadership gave Otte an ultimatum until 5:30 p.m. to explain whether he would accept the nomination. At 6 p.m. the federal executive board would discuss the further procedure, announced the new Secretary General Mario Czaja , who is not yet in office.
Otte has now rejected the CDU’s request to leave the party. “There are no reasons for me to think about leaving,” said Otte to “Welt” and spoke of a “highly democratic process”. “The CDU general secretary should please call me, then we can talk about his request. I am and will remain a solid member of the CDU,” Otte continued. The office of the Federal President must “evade the party dispute”. He couldn’t understand “the political assessment that I would harm the CDU by running for office”.
CDU politicians threaten Max Otte with expulsion from the party
The Union of Values, which claims to have around 4,000 members, sees itself as representing the conservative current in the Union, but is not an official party organization. Internal critics have long accused Otte of wanting to move the Union of Values to the right and open it to the AfD. The politician has practically no chance of becoming President. Incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier is running for a further five years with the support of the governing parties and the Union.
AfD Vice Stephan Brandner said on Tuesday that the AfD had spoken out in favor of the head of the conservative Union values. The result in a switch from the federal board and state heads the previous evening was clear, said Brandner in Berlin. Brandner spoke of a very clear commitment to Otte.
Several CDU politicians were critical of a possible candidacy. “A candidacy for another party, especially in this case for the AfD, would be absolutely out of the question,” said the parliamentary director of the Union faction in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei (CDU), on Tuesday in Berlin. Such a candidacy would violate all rules and “would clearly be behavior damaging to the party, which would inevitably lead to an exclusion,” he added.
The plans also met with sharp criticism from Wolfgang Bosbach. “I expect and also assume that Mr. Otte will immediately declare that he does not see the AfD’s nomination as a compliment for himself, but as impertinence,” said the CDU politician to the “Rheinische Post”. “For Christian Democrats there can only be one attitude towards the AfD: maximum distance,” emphasized Bosbach.
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The Federal Assembly meets on February 13 to elect the Federal President. It will have 1472 members – the 736 members of the Bundestag and an equal number of people who send the 16 state parliaments. With the votes from the SPD, Greens, FDP and CDU/CSU, Steinmeier can almost certainly count on re-election. Opposition parties have repeatedly entered their own candidates in the race for the highest office, even if this was hopeless.
Editor’s note, 2:19 p.m.: Max Otte spoke out after the CDU ultimatum. Accordingly, he wants to run for the AfD for the office of Federal President. We have updated the text accordingly.