CSU delegates set to reject AfD and Left cooperation, oppose ban

The CSU is expected to formalise its rejection of cooperation with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Left Party at its conference in Munich on Friday, while also opposing an AfD ban procedure, BR reported.

Delegates are due to vote on a three-page motion titled “Protect democracy. Defend freedom. Shape the future.” CSU leader Markus Söder is scheduled to address the conference before the debate and vote. The motion would make formal a position already promoted by Söder and the party leadership.

“We reject cooperation with the AfD for substantive reasons,” the motion states. It says radical parties on the left should face the same scrutiny as radical parties on the right, and adds that the CSU will not give extremists legitimacy. Secretary General Martin Huber told BR that the party was taking a firm stand against extremism.

The motion also argues against an AfD ban procedure, saying the process could take an unpredictable amount of time and would face high legal hurdles. CSU parliamentary group leader Klaus Holetschek had earlier said a partial ban should not be ruled out. Söder disagreed, saying he did not believe it was the right approach.

The motion cites opposition to inclusion in schools, challenges to European cooperation and the transatlantic alliance, and closeness to Russia under Vladimir Putin as reasons to reject the AfD’s positions. It says the CSU should explain why the party’s answers are wrong while also addressing problems.

On the Left Party, the motion says there can be “no compromise” on antisemitism. It also criticises what it describes as demands for expropriation, efforts to weaken police and domestic intelligence services, and proximity to criminal clans.

The motion follows a similar decision by the CDU in 2018, when it rejected coalitions and other forms of cooperation with both the Left Party and the AfD. The article also notes speculation about CDU lawmakers after an AfD politician was elected president of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament with four votes that did not come from the AfD or the BSW.