The designated CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann called on his party to unite after the debate about the statements made by party leader Friedrich Merz on how to deal with the AfD.
He was annoyed that some in the party had discussed Merz’s statements on Twitter. “That only harms the CDU,” Linnemann told the newspapers of the Funke media group. He added: “I have more and more the impression that some want to deliberately misunderstand him.”
Statements by Merz in the ZDF summer interview on how to deal with the AfD in the municipalities were often interpreted as softening the clear demarcation of the CDU from the right-wing populists. The AfD is classified and observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist.
Merz called the allegations absurd and later made it clear that his party’s incompatibility decision applies. There is also no cooperation between the CDU and the AfD at the municipal level. The party leader had received a lot of criticism from his own ranks for his statements in the summer interview.
Linnemann said Merz clearly said that the CDU did not work with the AfD. “At the same time, Friedrich Merz described a reality that all parties have to deal with. For example, there is an AfD district administrator in Thuringia and at the same time mayors of other parties. When the district administrator calls about school renovations, the mayor naturally answers.” It is only honest when Merz names these facts, said Linnemann. “Because they not only affect us, but also the SPD, Greens and FDP.”
