Fusion of German parties BD, WU, and “Wir Bürger” appears to be on the verge of collapse, according to a report by the “Welt” after talks with central protagonists of all three parties.
The chairman of the Bündnis Deutschland (BD), Steffen Große, stated that the planned merger with the Werteunion (WU) has stalled due to Hans-Georg Maaßen’s demand for a guarantee for his party’s leadership. “We have hit a snag here, because Hans-Georg Maaßen wanted a certain guarantee for his federal board. My impression, however, is that the WU federal board and Maaßen himself have climbed onto a soapbox” Große said.
The WU party rejects these accusations, calling them “nonsense.” According to WU’s vice-chairwoman and former CDU MP, Sylvia Pantel, the alleged ego show of Maaßen is responsible for the failed merger, “stupid stuff.” The BD had already held nomination meetings for the Bundestag election, “so our people had no chance anymore” Pantel said.
The chairman of the “Wir Bürger” party, Jürgen Joost, accuses the BD of being close to the AfD and pro-Russian narratives. “In the debate, there was a clear bias in favor of the Wagenknecht/AfD narrative that one should stop the weapons deliveries to Ukraine” Joost wrote to the party’s members in late November. He also warns that the BD could develop in the direction of a negative, anarcho-libertarian understanding of the state. Therefore, the party recommends a “no” vote in the ongoing referendum on the merger, which runs until December 18.