Status: 13.01.2024, 20:47 PM
By: Sophia Lother
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CDU party leader Friedrich Merz speaks at the final press conference of the closed meeting of the CDU federal executive. © Helmut Fricke/dpa
"There is no longer any reason to get involved with the CDU outside the regular structures of the CDU," Merz said after a CDU board meeting.
Heidelberg – CDU leader Friedrich Merz now wants to burn all bridges to the union of values. After a CDU board meeting in Heidelberg, he drew a red line. Should the Union of Values under its chairman Hans-Georg Maaßen actually become a separate party, simultaneous membership in the CDU would no longer be possible under current rules anyway, Merz explained.
If, on the other hand, a party is not founded, then he will apply for an incompatibility resolution on the union of values at a federal party congress.
Merz draws red line: CDU leader announces incompatibility resolution on union of values
"There is no longer any reason to get involved with the CDU outside the regular structures of the CDU," Merz said at the end of a closed-door meeting. "Parallel structures" outside the party are unnecessary. "Anyone who thinks otherwise should leave."
Founded in 2017, the Werteunion operates as a registered association and is not one of the official party branches of the Union. According to its own statements, it currently has 4000,<> members, many of whom are said to belong to the CDU or CSU. Maassen, the former president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, announced the founding of the party last week. He justified the plans with the course of the CDU leadership under Merz. In interviews, Maaßen also made it clear that, unlike Merz, he does not rule out cooperation with the AfD. For him, there is "no firewall" here, he said.
Merz wants to completely burn bridges to the Union of Values
Maaßen wants to set the course for the founding of the party at a general meeting of the Union of Values on January 20 in Erfurt. A decision is to be made on a motion to transfer the name of the Union of Values to a future party. In an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau, political scientist Uwe Jun estimated the chances of a new party being founded under Hans-Georg Maaßen as rather manageable. Among other things, he attributed this to other groups. (slo/dpa/AFP)