Ahead of the upcoming coalition build‑up in Saxony‑Anhalt after the state election, Brandenburg CDU member of the federal Bundestag Saskia Ludwig has openly signalled her willingness for the CDU minority government to seek AfD support in parliament. When asked on the Spiegel’s “Spitzengespräch” whether a CDU minority administration should lean on AfD votes, she answered that good, sensible proposals that benefit the state should be backed by those who have won the voters’ mandate. “If a minority government has to be formed, then it must stay a minority if other figures are not attainable” she added.
Ludwig challenged the “brand wall” that CDU leader Friedrich Merz had re‑affirmed at the party’s annual congress. “If 50 percent or more of the centre‑right vote is directed at a party, then centre‑right politics have to follow suit” she told the interview.
She argues that the AfD’s success is partly the outcome of earlier exclusionary tactics. “Democracy is about balance, not expulsion” she said. “What we are witnessing now is the effect of an exclusion strategy”. Regarding the brand wall, Ludwig sees it as counter‑productive: “The debate over a brand wall is misguided. In my view, it is responsible for the growing numbers, and it benefits both the AfD and the Left”.
Opposing this view, left‑wing leader Jan van Aken warned sharply against further normalising the AfD. “The more we present the AfD as a normal democratic party, the greater the danger to democracy” he said. “The AfD is a party that seeks to destroy democracy using democratic tools”. He cited the American experience, noting that many Democrats had underestimated the threat for too long. “If, in two years, the AfD controls the levers of power, they will wake up just as people in Minneapolis are waking up now – that is a grave danger”.