Resistance after AfD statement
Merz sees only “a few” critics in the CDU
8/4/2023 9:13 p.m
The fact that Merz does not rule out cooperation with the AfD at the municipal level in an interview causes resentment in his party. Now he says criticism of the chairman has a long tradition in the Union – and is relaxed. The CDU calls on Merz to unite.
The CDU chairman Friedrich Merz has called on his party to settle differences internally and to appear united to the outside world. “Of course there are discussions about the right course,” Merz told the “Münchner Merkur”. This is an expression of the diversity in a party. “It is important that we have the necessary internal discussions about the issues and then appear closed and smart to the outside world,” warned Merz.
Statements by Merz in the ZDF summer interview on how to deal with the AfD in municipalities had recently triggered strong opposition in his own party. Referring to the AfD’s electoral successes, Merz said: “We have to accept that. And of course the local parliaments have to look for ways to shape the city, the state, the district together.”
After fierce criticism from his own ranks, Merz had assured that his party’s incompatibility decision from 2018 applied. It says: “Germany’s CDU rejects coalitions and similar forms of cooperation with both the Left Party and the Alternative for Germany.”
Merz does not see criticism of the party leader as unusual. “This phenomenon is not entirely unknown in the CDU. It was also the case with Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel. But there are always only a few, mostly the same ones,” said Merz. When asked whether the next candidate for chancellor could be determined by a member vote, Merz referred to the party’s statutes.
“The members made a clear decision at the end of 2021. I am the only chairman in the history of the CDU who can rely on such a broad vote of members. You don’t have to repeat it as often as you like, but it is an instrument in the statutes “said the party leader. When asked whether he ruled out a basic decision for the K question, the CDU and Union faction leader replied: “I can’t rule out anything that is in our statutes.”