Germany – Maaßen’s nomination sparks controversy at CDU

The candidacy of Hans-Georg Massen, head of the protection of the controversial German constitution, as the Christian Democratic Union’s Bundestag candidate in Thuringia, caused unrest within the union. The Secretary-General of the Christian Democratic Union, Paul Zimiak, called for “a sharp demarcation of the borders of the AfD.” She described Christian Democratic Union member Karen Brian Mason as “a marginal figure on the democratic spectrum.”

“I expect from every candidate: a clear commitment to the values ​​and policies of the Christian Democratic Union, as well as a sharp demarcation from the AfD,” Zimiac told the editorial network in Germany. Any cooperation with this party is excluded. At the same time, the Secretary-General of the Christian Democratic Union cautiously commented on the nomination in Thuringia: “We are a decentralized and federally organized party.” Local members had made a democratic decision about their constituency’s candidate in the legally specified procedure.

Christian Democratic Union member Karen Breen told the Funk Media Group newspapers that Mason is “a marginal figure in the democratic spectrum with whom most Christian Democrats do not share.” Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Education has warned that Maasen is also subject to “a non-negotiable demarcation requirement from the AfD – especially after his candidacy.”

The union’s deputy parliamentary group leader, Thorsten Frey, said that “even categorically conservative positions, such as those represented by Hans-George Massen, can find a home in the CDU.” Nevertheless, each candidate must fit the party’s “upper general line”, which also includes “no cooperation with the Alternative for Germany”.

Left swipe

Sharp criticism came from the left-wing leader Susan Hennig Welsow. “The CDU has learned nothing from the dam blast in Erfurt,” she told the newspaper, intending to elect politician Thomas Kimmerich as prime minister for a short period in Thuringia by votes from the CDU and the Alternative for Germany party in February: “The CDU has learned nothing from the dam blast in Erfurt,” 2020. It was Masen’s list. A red line, ” said Henig-Welsow, who is Janine Whistler’s co-chair. “The wall of fire on the right has disappeared. Massen is the hook in three parts. In southern Thuringia there will be a race now on the right edge,” said Hennig Welsow.

Maasen was nominated by a large majority of the four CDU district associations as a direct candidate for the federal election in September at a representative meeting in Sohl on Friday evening. The controversial former president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has long been a right-wing CDU member, a member of the Union of Conservative Values ​​in particular and advocates of a strict path in immigration policy.

Maasen, from North Rhine-Westphalia, headed the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution from 2012 to 2018. In 2018, he was heavily criticized after comparative statements about far-right riots in Chemnitz. He was finally replaced as Head of Constitutional Protection when he later spoke of the “Radical Left Forces” of the Social Democratic Party. (apa / afp)