In the face of rising AfD popularity, CDU top politicians are urging a different approach to the far-right party in the federal election campaign. “The AfD no longer has any fear of the Nazi whip” said Jens Spahn, the CDU’s parliamentary group vice-chair, to the Welt newspaper.
“We must tell voters clearly: by voting for AfD, they will ultimately get red-green, and strengthen the left forces in the country” Spahn said, emphasizing that no party will form a coalition with AfD, regardless of the election outcome. “An AfD vote is a wasted vote, and the political change can only be achieved with us.” This message is crucial, especially for almost half of the voters who have yet to decide who to vote for on February 23, Spahn added.
Hesse’s Minister-President Boris Rhein, a CDU member, advises the party to focus more on the issues that matter to voters. “We must show solutions for the problems that really burn under people’s nails – on migration, internal security, and questions of economy, prosperity, and job markets” said Rhein to the Welt newspaper. In Hesse, his state government has been tackling these issues.
The result, according to Rhein, is that AfD’s values are declining, while CDU’s approval is growing. The federal party has made the right announcements on the key issues and formulated its solutions clearly, unlike any other party. These proposals need to be put in the foreground now, Rhein said. “Boom the economy, reduce crime – that’s the right way to bring Germany forward again.”
One needs short, memorable messages, urged the long-time CDU politician Wolfgang Bosbach. “If Chancellor Olaf Scholz says our prosperity is based on our social state, then that’s simply false” Bosbach said. “The basis of our prosperity is our economic power and the diligence of people. If we let our competitiveness dwindle, we won’t be able to expand our social state forever.” AfD is on the rise, in part, because it is constantly present in the public, Bosbach said. “The AfD is constantly reported on, even if it’s 95 percent negative. But that doesn’t harm it. It even makes it more interesting for many people.” A worse fate for AfD would be its neglect.