CDU quake!
Values union boss Max Otte before party exclusion: Merz takes action after AfD nomination
Created: 01/26/2022, 05:42
By: Florian Naumann, Andreas Schmid
Max Otte was nominated by the AfD for the office of Federal President.
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
The AfD wants to put up a candidate in the federal presidential election: Max Otte, CDU politician and head of the Union of Values.
The CDU now reacts clearly.
The CDU is experiencing a scandal with the upcoming federal presidential election: Otte, head of the Union of Values, is on the AfD ticket.
In the afternoon, the right-wing populists presented the plans.
An ultimatum from the CDU leadership beat Otte to the wind.
(
updated from 2.48 p.m.
)
The CDU reacted promptly - and excluded Otte from their own party (
update from 6.35 p.m.
)
Update from January 25, 10:50 p.m
.: The AfD and Values Union boss Max Otte do things together.
The AfD provoked the CDU, which was able to fend off this attack promptly.
In the end there is only one loser, according to a comment from
Merkur.de
*.
CDU quake!
Values union boss Max Otte before party exclusion: Merz takes action after AfD nomination
Update from January 25, 6:51 p.m
.: With his candidacy at the suggestion of the AfD, Otte also violated party congress decisions from 2018.
Accordingly, the chairman of the Cologne district association, to which Otte belongs, and the CDU state association of North Rhine-Westphalia were also involved in a digital meeting of the federal executive board.
The federal board refers to paragraph 11 of the CDU statute.
There it says, "in urgent and serious cases that require immediate intervention", the party can exclude a member "until the final decision of the responsible party courts".
Such a decision is therefore "at the same time as an application for the initiation of an exclusion procedure".
Update from January 25, 6:50 p.m
.: Ziemiak speaks of a breach of loyalty.
The Union wants to support a second term in office for Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) in the election for the Federal President.
"The political games of the AfD and the way in which Mr. Otte got involved shows little respect for the office of Federal President, if not for the entire democracy."
Update from January 25, 6:49 p.m
.: The CDU confirms that Otte should be excluded from the party.
Otte will also be excluded from exercising his membership rights.
The PC is running.
The Otte nomination caused "considerable damage" to the CDU, says (still) General Secretary Paul Ziemiak.
Update from January 25, 6:35 p.m
.: The CDU federal board wants to exclude Max Otte from the party.
This is reported by the German Press Agency.
The decision was unanimous.
As the AFP news agency reports, Otte has already been ruled out with the decision.
A press conference on the Otte cause is planned shortly.
We accompany the PK in the live ticker.
Max Otte: Conservative awakening Bavaria appalled by AfD nomination
Update from January 25, 5:45 p.m
.: Max Otte’s AfD nomination for the federal presidential election continues to cause criticism.
The CDU politician and head of the Union of Values must expect a party exclusion procedure
(see previous update)
.
There is now also criticism from the “Conservative Awakening in Bavaria”, formerly a kind of state association of the union of values.
State spokeswoman Juliane Ried describes Otte's nomination as a "completely irresponsible solo effort to the detriment of the value union".
It is obvious "that Mr. Otte only aspired to the post of Federal Chairman of the Union of Values in order to use this position for publicity actions in his person." Ried's conclusion: "The Union of Values as a formation in the CDU and CSU is through this Single-handedly now finally destroyed.” Otte gave the Union leadership further reason for party committee proceedings against members of the Union of Values.
"So the project of a conservative and economically liberal platform in the Union no longer makes sense."
The "Konservative Aufbruch Bayern" left the Federal Association of the Union of Values in the summer of 2021.
You want to focus more on the CSU.
Since then, the organization - like when it was founded in 2014 - has been known as "Conservative Awakening in Bavaria".
It sees itself as representing the conservative current in the Union, but is not an official party organization.
Ried himself stood in the election for the federal chairmanship of the Value Union in May 2021 - but narrowly failed to Otte.
Value union boss wants to become federal president with AfD: Merz is internally clear
Update from January 25, 4:35 p.m .:
Friedrich Merz has spoken out in favor of a quick party exclusion procedure against the head of the arch-conservative Values Union, Max Otte. "There is a very hard and clear cut," said Merz in an online meeting of the Union faction in the Bundestag on Tuesday, according to participants. Otte is a man who has long distanced himself from the Union. "Tonight we will show him that we act very quickly and very clearly," said Merz. Otte had previously stated that he would run for the AfD as a candidate for the office of Federal President (
see previous update
).
"We will set very clear signals," Merz said in the direction of Otte.
The CDU federal board will meet in the evening for a special digital session to discuss how to proceed.
The appointment is apparently scheduled for 6 p.m.
The outgoing party leader Armin Laschet was quoted by the participants as saying: "This Otte and also the value union danced on our noses for years." Everyone knows how difficult an exclusion process is.
"Now a threshold has been crossed." Otte "perhaps speculated that we would not be able to act this week.
It's us.
And we will not tolerate such activities.”
Official: leader of the Union of Values wants to become Federal President with AfD – and sees “no cooperation” in it
Update from January 25, 4 p.m.:
Now it is official: The AfD leadership has officially presented the CDU politician and chairman of the arch-conservative union of values, Max Otte, as their candidate for the office of Federal President. "Today is a good day for democracy in Germany, because we have an alternative to the two left-wing candidates for the office of Federal President," AfD leader Tino Chrupalla said in Berlin on Tuesday. Group leader Alice Weidel criticized the fact that the Union itself is not naming a candidate.
Otte said at the joint appearance with Chrupalla and Weidel that he saw his nomination as a "great honor" and accepted it. He sees the office of Federal President as an opportunity to point out “that we have to think about our freedom rights”, for example in the corona pandemic. Social issues are also important to him. He does not see a contradiction to his CDU membership, Otte continued. It is about "the highest state office that stands above the parties". This is "no cooperation" with the AfD and therefore no contradiction to the CDU resolution. "It is an individual decision whether I accept this proposal or not." He does not want to comment on demands for his exit from the CDU party in the media. said Otte.
Meanwhile, the party exclusion procedure (
see update from 2.42 p.m.
) is taking on very concrete forms for Otte: the CDU federal executive board wants to discuss an exclusion at 6 p.m.
CDU scandal about the boss of the Union of Values: Otte attacks Steinmeier in an interview
Update from January 25, 3:18 p.m .:
Max Otte, leader of the Union of Values and apparently designated candidate for the AfD’s federal president, criticized the incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s administration in another interview.
"I can only say that during his presidency the rifts have become ever larger, and the Federal President has the task of reconciling, healing and bringing together," he said in an interview with
wa.de
*.
According to his own statements, Otte had also hoped for a nomination by the CDU.
His deputy at the head of the Union of Values had "suggested him to Friedrich Merz," he said.
At the same time, he reaffirmed his will to remain a member of the CDU and rejected speculation about a change to the AfD: "I am and will remain a member of the CDU, I have always said that," emphasized Otte to
wa.de*
.
CDU threatens a conflict of values: party exclusion proceedings for Otte are already on the way
Update from January 25, 2:42 p.m .:
The conflict over the apparently agreed federal presidential candidacy of the head of the Union of Values Max Otte on a ticket from the AfD is making waves.
According to its own statements, the CDU Cologne is already seeking a party exclusion procedure for Otte - the association announced on Tuesday.
The move is being made in consultation with the state and federal parties.
Ex-CDU boss Armin Laschet was also appalled.
"To be nominated by the AfD as a presidential candidate is not an honor but a shame," he tweeted.
Anyone considering running for office would damage the reputation of the CDU and have lost nothing in it.
Pressure also comes from other parties.
The SPD party executive said that Otte or other CDU representatives such as Hans-Georg Maassen irritated "with political border crossing and agitation".
The Chancellor Party demanded a reaction from party leader Friedrich Merz: He must now "show his composure".
Presidential scandal: leader of the Union of Values is running for the AfD – and throwing Ziemiak’s ultimatum to the wind
Update from January 25, 2:18 p.m .: Values union
boss Max Otte has rejected the CDU’s request to leave the party because of his nomination by the AfD as a candidate for the federal presidential election.
"There are no reasons for me to think about leaving," Otte told Die
Welt
on Tuesday.
He therefore accepts the nomination by the AfD, which he described as a "great honor".
"I see no reason to spread such tones in a highly democratic process," Otte continued.
"The CDU general secretary should please call me, then we can talk about his request.
I am and remain a rock-solid member of the CDU.” The office of Federal President must “evade the party dispute,” said the Union of Values chairman.
"I cannot understand the political assessment that I would harm the CDU by running for office.
Running would be a service to democracy.”
Presidential scandal: CDU man Otte does not rule out AfD candidacy – Ziemiak issues an ultimatum
Update from January 25, 1:10 p.m .:
“We call for Dr. Otte to leave the CDU”: These words were just uttered by CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak at a press conference. The AfD had previously announced that it wanted to nominate the CDU man Max Otte for the office of Federal President
(see update from January 25, 11.40 a.m.).
"Anyone who, as a Christian Democrat, is even considering having the AfD elect them to the highest office in the state is violating the values of the CDU and has no place in our party," Ziemiak continued.
Otte violates decisions.
The designated general secretary, Mario Czaja, emphasized that it was not the first time that Otte had violated the party's regulations or taken them to the limits.
Further steps would be discussed in the evening in the federal executive board.
Otte should comment on his further plan by 5:30 p.m. whether he will accept the nomination.
"We're not ready for any games," Ziemiak added.
Otte is causing damage to the party by doing this.
"After all the impression that one can get, it is deliberately so."
AfD wants to nominate CDU man Otte for the office of Federal President
Update from January 25, 11:40 a.m .:
Now it is official: The AfD wants to nominate a CDU man for the office of Federal President.
AfD Vice Stephan Brandner confirmed this.
The result in a switch from the federal executive board and state heads the previous evening was clear, said Brandner on Tuesday in Berlin.
He spoke of a very clear commitment to Otte.
A politician has been found who enjoys a "good reputation in public".
When asked if Otte had already agreed, Brandner said he had not spoken to him personally.
"But as far as I know, he is still on fire as our candidate for the Federal President."
There are now also reactions from the Union: The head of the Union faction announced a party exclusion procedure in the event of Otte's candidacy.
"A candidacy for another party, especially in this case for the AfD, would be absolutely out of the question," said the parliamentary manager of the Union faction in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei (CDU).
Such a candidacy would violate all rules and "would clearly be behavior damaging to the party, which would necessarily lead to an exclusion," he added.
"Enough is enough," said the Baden-Württemberg CDU faction leader Manuel Hagel.
Presidential scandal: AfD wants to nominate head of the union of values - even Maassen is taking consequences
First report from January 25:
Berlin – The re-election of Frank-Walter Steinmeier as Federal President is considered certain – but a hopeless candidate nomination by the AfD * could now fuel an internal dispute in the CDU *.
Because the right-wing populists want to send a Christian Democrat into the race*.
Namely the head of the right-wing Union of Values, Max Otte, which is also repeatedly viewed with suspicion within the CDU.
He doesn't rule out a candidacy.
AfD wants to nominate a CDU member as a candidate for the Federal President - the head of the Union of Values does not rule it out
"Being offered the candidacy for Federal President is one of the greatest honors that can happen to you," said the CDU politician to the dpa when asked whether he would run for the AfD.
“The office offers the chance to heal, to reconcile, to admonish.
I consult with my family and think deeply about it.”
According to reports by
Spiegel
and
Zeit Online
, the AfD had previously nominated Otte as a candidate for the office of Federal President.
In a joint conference call between the federal executive board and the state heads, a majority decided in favor of Otte,
Spiegel
reported .
The AfD initially did not comment on the reports on Tuesday morning when asked, but announced a press conference for the afternoon.
Criticism was not long in coming.
Presidential election: AfD scandal – Green tease, Maassen leaves the union of values
The Green parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann immediately targeted the newly elected CDU leader Friedrich Merz.
"Values, attitude and a clear compass for our vibrant democracy are absent from the union of values," she tweeted: "And now the CDU
and Friedrich Merz"?
Party colleague Irene Mihalic asked the Union of Values itself how long they wanted to "passively watch" how Otte or Hans-Georg Maassen "would like to ally the Union with the AfD's enemies of the constitution".
But there are also crunches within the party.
Former CDU General Secretary Ruprecht Polenz - most recently known for more liberal positions and a massive presence on Twitter - called for the short message service to declare membership in the Union incompatible with that in the Union of Values.
Even Maassen drew consequences: According to his own statements, he left the union of values.
"For me it is completely unacceptable that the head of the Union of Values can be nominated by the AfD as a candidate for the office of Federal President and the Board of the Union of Values tolerates that," he wrote in the right-wing short message platform Gettr.
Maassen argued that the work of the Union of Values was being “discredited”.
Union of Values: Trouble for the CDU again and again
The Union of Values, which claims to have around 4,000 members, sees itself as representing the conservative current in the Union, but is not an official party structure.
Internal critics have long accused Otte of wanting to move the union of values to the right and open it to the AfD.
Otte announced in an interview in 2017 that he wanted to vote for the AfD in the federal elections - also because of Chancellor Angela Merkel's (CDU) course.
Until January 2021, the fund manager was chairman of the board of trustees of the AfD-affiliated Desiderius Erasmus Foundation.
Otte has practically no chance of becoming President.
Incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier is running for a further five years with the support of the governing parties and the Union.
A good two weeks ago, the left had nominated the Mainz social doctor Gerhard Trabert as another candidate.
Presidential election: How does the choice of the head of state work?
The Federal Assembly* convenes on February 13 to elect the Federal President.
It will have 1,472 members - the 736 members of the Bundestag and an equal number of people who send the 16 state parliaments.
With the votes from the SPD, Greens, FDP and CDU/CSU, Steinmeier can almost certainly count on re-election.
more on the subject
Linke nominated social physician Trabert against Steinmeier
Steinmeier's future well decided - Greens make a decision
Steinmeier can count on re-election
Opposition parties have repeatedly entered their own candidates in the race for the highest office, even if this was hopeless.
However, plans by the free voter boss Hubert Aiwanger to name a candidate may have failed, as the
Munich Merkur *
learned.
(
dpa/fn
) *
Merkur.de and wa.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA
.
