Tauber warns: CDU could collapse before the AfD without a change of course!

Tauber warns: CDU could collapse before the AfD without a change of course!

At a defining moment in Germany's political history, Peter Tauber, the former general secretary of the CDU, urgently warns of an impending threat to the CDU's existence due to the current party policy towards the AfD. In the ZDF program “Markus Lanz” he called for a new approach to the right-wing populist party in order to prevent its political influence from growing any further. [Welt] reports that Tauber is suggesting a “red line policy” if necessary to deal with the AfD.

However, this demand contradicts the clear positions that leading politicians in the Union have so far taken. While Tauber receives positive feedback on his statements, his views also meet with widespread rejection. In particular, Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn has publicly spoken out against such a course. But what is happening in the ranks of the Union, where the pressure to rethink the position on the AfD is becoming ever stronger?

Discussion about the firewall

The debate about the so-called firewall between the CDU/CSU and the AfD is gaining momentum. Several politicians from East Germany, including the Saxon CDU general secretary Tom Unger, support Tauber's call for a different approach. Unger criticized the CDU's previous dealings with the AfD and advocated for the Union to be more responsive to voters who no longer feel represented by other parties. [Tagesschau] shows that, especially in Saxony, the discourse about one's own political position is being increasingly conducted.

Thuringia's parliamentary group leader Andreas Bühl and other MPs reiterate that the approval of extreme fringes should not be a reason for a change of course. In view of the AfD's failed attempts to obtain a vice-presidential position in the Bundestag, the CDU remains skeptical about cooperation. Friedrich Merz, Chancellor and CDU leader, emphasizes the need for a clear demarcation from the AfD and defends the incompatibility decision, which has ruled out coalitions with the AfD since 2018.

A look into the future of the CDU

Tauber points out that the Union is in a critical phase. If the attitude towards the AfD does not change, the CDU could no longer exist in ten years. This dire prediction must motivate the party's leadership to think about new strategies and seek dialogue. In this context, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU) also advocates a content-based discussion instead of demarcation.

The internal discussion about the firewall shows how torn the party has become. A new initiative alliance called “Compass Mitte” states that in the past the fascists only came to power with the help of conservatives. This group, which is calling for an AfD ban, criticizes the narrower political orientation under Merz and is aiming for a return to broader support among the electorate in order to reach over 40 percent again.

So it remains to be seen whether Tauber and his supporters will be heard and how the CDU will position itself in this time of crisis. The political discourse in Germany is complex, and the confrontation with the AfD will be anything but easy.