The controversy surrounding the Family Businesses Association’s (Familienunternehmerverband) recent and subsequently retracted, decision to lift a ban on inviting members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to events has ignited a broader political debate in Germany, exposing fault lines between conservative factions and raising concerns about the financing of think tanks perceived as facilitating dialogue with the far-right.
Prominent historian and former chairman of the CDU’s core values commission, Andreas Rödder, has sharply criticized the public pressure levied against the Family Businesses Association, characterizing the backlash as driven by “left-green indignation reflexes” and “the opportunism of economic elites”. Rödder defended the practice of business associations hosting parliamentarians from opposition parties, arguing it is a necessary aspect of democratic normalcy and that exclusion is counterproductive.
The initial decision by the Family Businesses Association, swiftly reversed by its president, Marie-Christine Ostermann, who is also associated with the conservative think tank Republik21 (R21), has become a focal point for criticism. R21, led by Rödder, has drawn renewed scrutiny over its own funding and perceived role in fostering discussions between the conservative CDU/CSU and the AfD.
Representatives from the Green Party and the Left Party have reignited calls to halt state subsidies directed towards R21. Green Party parliamentary group deputy Andreas Audretsch described the CDU/CSU’s past endorsement of a multi-million euro funding allocation to R21 as “dangerous and historically oblivious”. Left Party’s interior policy expert Clara Bünger asserted that R21 contributes to the “normalization” of the AfD and actively advances its “authoritarian power ambitions” criticizing the support for the think tank from both the CDU/CSU and the SPD.
Currently, R21 is slated to receive institutional funding of €250,000 within the federal budget, although the organization has indicated it will forgo claiming this sum. The institution is eligible to apply for annual funding of up to €500,000 over the subsequent four years. This allocation was championed by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and secured through a vote supported by the governing coalition, highlighting the complex political landscape surrounding the think tank and raising profound questions about the legitimacy of state funding for organizations that engage with potentially destabilizing political forces. The episode underscores a growing discomfort surrounding the optics of bridging the political divide while simultaneously enabling the normalization of a party positioned on the fringes of the democratic spectrum.