Firewall against the AfD: researcher warns CDU of "implosion of the party"

How to deal with the AfD is seen as a central issue at the CDU crisis retreat. Danny Schindler, director of the Institute for Parliamentary Research, warned in an interview with the "Münchner Merkur" that if the CDU tore down the firewall, for example through coalitions with the AfD, it would face a severe internal strain likely to lead to the "implosion of the party". Distancing alone is not enough, however; in Schindler's words, "convincing policy offers" and communication that "creates acceptance" are needed. The CDU's losses are "by no means irreversible".

Opinions in the party differ. According to Table.Briefings, Hesse's premier Boris Rhein has argued against continuing to exclude the AfD from parliamentary politics, while North Rhine-Westphalia's head of government Hendrik Wüst calls for examining an AfD ban procedure. Pressure to cooperate with the AfD is strongest in the eastern state branches, the "Münchner Merkur" reports. In Saxony-Anhalt, AfD politician Tobias Rausch was elected parliament speaker with more votes than the AfD and BSW hold together – since then, the CDU has been searching for the defectors in its ranks.