“The Republic” is the name of a new project by the ex-CSU YouTube man Armin Petschner-Multari.
Some politicians quickly distance themselves from the “extra-parliamentary voice of the CDU and CSU”.
Berlin / Munich - On Thursday, a report about a new project in the CDU and CSU environment hit the waves: A new campaign organization called “The Republic” is said to be able to “stand up to an anti-business and civic climate”.
One of the supporters is Friedrich Merz.
Digital Minister of State Dorothee Bär, on the other hand, publicly denied a report by
Tagesspiegel
, according to which she is also involved in the plans - the paper itself has now also refrained from this representation.
The managing director of “The Republic” is Armin Petschner-Multari, who previously worked for the CSU - he appeared as the face of the party's own YouTube channel.
Politicians are not directly involved, it said.
“The Republic”: “Extra-parliamentary voice from CDU and CSU”?
Newsletter selection clarifies alignment
In a statement on Thursday, however, one can read at the same time that the organization “TheRepublic” sees itself “also as the extra-parliamentary voice of the CDU and CSU”.
You give "those who keep Germany going a strong voice".
According to its own statements, the project has broad support from the Union.
On the home page of the new webpage, the creators of the offer didn’t save with drastically formulated headings on Thursday: “After the Zapfenstreich scandal: depravity has a tolerant, diverse and wokes face”, it was said, for example.
In addition, there were columns - but also more neutral messages.
At the same time, the website offers newsletters - in the three speaking categories “Gender”, “Radicals” and “Broadcasting”.
Merz, Ploß, Bosbach: Supporters for a new project - Bär denies participation
At a kick-off event in Leipzig at the end of August, the CDU politician Friedrich Merz promoted the project.
The Hamburg CDU boss Christoph Ploß, the middle class association of the CDU, and parliamentary deputy Carsten Linnemann are among the supporters.
According to "TheRepublic", Merz said that he had followed the development of this project with interest and that he wished the initiators every success in terms of the diversity of opinion in Germany.
"The bourgeois camp has to get out of the defensive," emphasized Ploß.
“To do this, we have to go new ways.” In addition, Caroline Bosbach, daughter of former Union parliamentary deputy Wolfgang Bosbach, who recently resigned from election campaign activities under some theatrical thunder, should also be part of the network's management team.
She was already represented with a contribution on Thursday.
Bär, on the other hand, distanced himself with brief words: “I'm not one of them,” she tweeted on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the hashtag “#TheRepublic” was trending in the short message service.
“The Republic”: Ex-CSU employee wants to create “bourgeois counter-publicity” - CDU deputy waves it away
The founding appeal states: "With our own platforms and channels, the development of our own influencers as multipliers as well as the production of pointed content and campaigns, we are helping the bourgeois camp out of the communicative defensive." to counteract the media drift to the left ”.
Campaign models from the USA and Great Britain should also be taken into account.
On Thursday, however, there was also criticism from the CDU.
"What is opposing 'political left-wing drift' is the CDU and CSU, but not a commercial campaign agency with a (very conservative) English name," tweeted Matthias Hauer, member of the Bundestag.
The left in the Bundestag was horrified: "Anyone wondering how close the Union would like to get to the AfD in the future just has to keep an eye on The Republic," tweeted its parliamentary director Jan Korte.
(
AFP / fn
)
