The Berlin CDU Won’t Work with Extremists. Or Will It?
Days after the Marzahn-Hellersdorf CDU ruled out arrangements with political extremes, its local leader said the AfD “will be part of the district office”.
The Berlin district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf is in some political turmoil. In September’s elections, the AfD came first, with 33.8%. Die Linke came second, with 20.3%. But it is the third-placed CDU that now appears to be kingmaker, and its approach in negotiations is worth a closer look.
Marzahn-Hellersdorf’s new district assembly has yet to get started, and the sticking point is the AfD. The assembly’s first meeting on 29 October was interrupted almost immediately because the parties couldn’t agree on a chair for the assembly. The disagreement now is over whether the AfD has to be part of the district office.
The CDU says yes. Its district leader, Mario Czaja, told the Tagesspiegel he still can’t imagine an AfD mayor, but that the AfD’s three councillor posts are different: “Of course the AfD will be part of the district office, because otherwise it wouldn’t be able to function or make decisions based on its basic composition.”
The party’s position rests on the “Wuhletal Guidelines”, a policy paper passed at the start of November that sets out how it will deal with both the AfD and Die Linke. It promises “no agreements with political extremes”, and says there will be “no joint planning, no strategies, no arrangements and no agreements on forming majorities” with anyone who crosses its red lines. But in practice, the CDU has turned down an offer from Die Linke, the SPD and the Greens to keep the AfD out of the district office, and says the AfD’s councillors should be part of it.
The SPD and the Greens are speaking out. SPD assembly members Luise Lehmann and Eike Arnold say “an AfD-free district office is possible”: under the district administration law, a new office can start with the mayor and two other members, and nominating a candidate doesn’t oblige anyone to vote for them. The assembly rejected the AfD’s candidate in more than 40 votes last term. “The CDU, of all parties, which is complicit in these delays, is now declaring AfD participation in the district office a prerequisite.”
The Greens say they’re "shocked" that the CDU has turned down the "outstretched hand" of Die Linke, the SPD and the Greens. The assembly is expected to meet again on 19 November, and whether a district office will be elected then is still unclear.