parties
CDU in the East declares war on AfD: remove the breeding ground
According to surveys, the AfD could become the strongest force by a significant margin in some cases in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. photo
© Carsten Koall/dpa
A ban on the AfD? No, says Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Haseloff and instead calls for a substantive debate with the right-wing populists. His party colleagues also say that.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said: “We have to deal with this party in terms of content, we have to confront it and we must not avoid it when it comes to the issue of migration.” A ban on the AfD is not an option because the AfD would assume the role of a martyr.
AfD clearly in the lead in surveys
In September, new state parliaments will be elected in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. According to surveys, the AfD could become the strongest force in all three countries, some by a significant margin. CDU leader Friedrich Merz had already made a clear declaration of war on the AfD at a board meeting last week.
Mario Voigt, party and parliamentary group leader in Thuringia, now emphasized: “The AfD’s isolationist efforts and fantasies of doom for Europe are poison for our internationally networked companies and businesses.” You have to have the courage to have a substantive debate with the AfD.
Brandenburg’s CDU leader Jan Redmann demanded of his own party: “Get out of the political bubble and into dialogue with the people in the country. In the East, people often only know parties from talk shows on television.” Franz-Robert Liskow, party and parliamentary group leader of the CDU in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said that “sensible answers” are needed for explosive issues such as migration and energy policy.