In Thuringia, the CDU pushed through a tax cut – also with the votes of the AfD. The SPD, the Greens and the Left in the federal government are horrified. FDP leader Lindner sees responsibility with the CDU. The AfD celebrates the end of “Merz’s firewall”.
After the CDU in Thuringia, together with the AfD, decided to reduce the property transfer tax, there is a lot of criticism in political Berlin. The main question is: How far can cooperation with the AfD go?
In the past few months, the debate about the “firewall” has flared up again and again, with CDU leader Friedrich Merz recently assuring that he stands firmly by the ban on cooperation, including at the local level. But now the CDU in Thuringia has pushed through a tax cut as an opposition together with the FDP and the AfD against the red-red-green minority coalition.
The vote was about the property transfer tax due when buying real estate. The CDU parliamentary group was only able to reduce the tax from 6.5 to 5.0 percent because, in addition to the FDP, the AfD, which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia classified as proven right-wing extremist, also agreed. This is causing discussions nationwide.
Are democratic principles shifting?
Politicians beyond Thuringia’s borders criticized the CDU’s actions. “Today’s vote in the Erfurt state parliament was not an accident,” said SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert ARD capital studio. The CDU in Thuringia was clearly committed to bringing about a political decision that would not have been possible without the votes of the AfD.
“This is a new quality in German parliamentarism that has never existed before,” continued Kühnert. He fears that parliamentarism will be different after today if this becomes common practice in the CDU. “Democrats must never make the AfD the parliamentary tipping point.”
Left: demarcation to the right is just “an empty phrase”
Criticism also comes from the left. “The CDU’s verbal demarcation to the right repeatedly turns out to be an empty phrase,” said federal chairwoman Janine Wissler. The CDU is cooperating in Thuringia “with the party of the fascist Höcke” and is thus normalizing the AfD. For Wissler, it is obvious that the Thuringian CDU is not doing this without the consent of Berlin.
From the point of view of Green Party leader Ricarda Lang, this is a “very clear shift in position”. Even before the vote in the Thuringian state parliament, she said that CDU politicians would try not to interpret the creation of majorities with votes from the AfD as cooperation. “I expect Friedrich Merz to create clarity within his own ranks.”
No statement from CDU leader Merz
Neither CDU leader Friedrich Merz nor his general secretary Carsten Linnemann wanted to comment after the vote in Thuringia. A spokesman explained that the CDU parliamentary group in Thuringia regularly submits proposals on various topics and is thus fulfilling its duty to bring its own solutions into the political consultation. And further: “How other factions behave afterwards is not under their influence.”
Before the vote, Merz defended the actions of the Thuringian CDU faction. There will be no cooperation with the AfD at the federal or state level. “It stays that way,” said Merz on RTL/ntv. “We do not make what we discuss in the state parliaments and the German Bundestag dependent on other factions.”
Merz receives support from CSU boss Markus Söder. “I think he’s right,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister in the RTL “Nachtjournal Spezial”. “Incidentally, it would be up to the other democratic parties to support this good idea of a tax cut, because relief for citizens is nothing extreme, but rather sensible.”
Majority relationships in the state parliament are difficult
The majority situation in the Thuringian state parliament is difficult: Ramelow’s red-red-green coalition has not had its own majority since the 2019 state election – it is four votes short in parliament. She is always dependent on compromises when making decisions – so far especially with the CDU.
Thuringia’s CDU state party and parliamentary group leader Mario Voigt defended his actions. “I cannot make good, important decisions for the Free State, the relief for families and the economy, dependent on the wrong people agreeing,” said Voigt in the daily topics. For him it is important that the content is convincing.
Criticism of the FDP’s behavior – also from the Young Liberals
The criticism is also directed against the Liberals, because in addition to the AfD, FDP MPs also voted for the CDU proposal. Only then could the project be passed against the votes of the Left, the SPD and the Greens. Nevertheless, FDP leader Christian Lindner rejects his party’s responsibility. “Now we don’t want to confuse cause and effect,” he said at an Augsburger Allgemeine event. It was a request from the Christian Democrats in the state parliament. “That’s why it’s now the CDU’s responsibility.”
The federal chairwoman of the Young Liberals and member of the FDP federal executive committee, Franziska Brandmann, is more critical of her party’s role. “It is impossible for upstanding Democrats to launch political initiatives whose success depends on the support of right-wing extremists,” she says. Representing and defending this principle is particularly the responsibility of the Union and the FDP as civil parties. “In Thuringia, where that didn’t work today. And also beyond Thuringia.”
Weidel: “Merz’s firewall is history”
The federal leadership of the AfD considers the process a success. “Merz’s firewall is history and Thuringia is just the beginning,” writes Alice Weidel on the online service X (formerly Twitter).
And their co-chairman Chrupalla explains: “The CDU and AfD have torn down the firewall in Thuringia.” His party has been calling for the abolition of the property transfer tax for owner-occupied properties for years. In Thuringia we have now come a big step closer to this goal. “When it comes to the interests of citizens, it is not important who votes with whom. It is important that a majority is achieved,” says Chrupalla.