The Brandenburg Economic Union of SMEs (MIT) is pushing for a fundamental change in the CDU’s course towards the AfD. The state association group calls for action at the federal level to “repeat or fundamentally revise the decision that the CDU in Germany is incompatible with the AfD,” according to a statement, the original of which is available to WELT.
The proposal will be discussed at the MIT Brandenburg State Council meeting on Tuesday (July 7, 2026).
The two-page letter is titled “For a return to political factual work – democratic debate instead of total exclusion” and advocates for an “issue-focused culture of political debate” in which policy decisions are made based on content rather than on the basis of total exclusion.
From the applicants’ point of view, overturning the incompatibility decision would be “a signal that the CDU would like to conduct democratic competition more through content rather than through general demarcations.” Political debates with the AfD should take place “solely on the basis of their programs, proposals and their concrete political actions.”
As justification, the applicants point to the AfD’s high support ratings. “According to current polls, about a quarter of voters support the AfD; in some East German states their support is significantly higher,” the newspaper said. Regardless of its political assessment, the party represents “a significant part of the German electorate.”
MIT Brandenburg argues that the CDU, as a people’s party, should have the right to “appeal politically to all sectors of the population.” Millions of citizens should not be permanently excluded from the conversation. The goal should be to win back these voters through the political concepts of the Union.
The statement also contains a reference to the Basic Law. Until a party is banned, democratic debate “must be primarily political and argumentative.” The current decision on incompatibility is understood by many members as an expression of a “policy of total demarcation”. The CDU must derive its political strength “from the quality of its content and its problem-solving skills, rather than from decisions on organizational demarcation.”
In support of their position, the applicants point to the development of the Green Party, which was initially considered in many cases unable to form a coalition, and then became the government party. According to the article, political assessments and forms of cooperation are subject to a democratic process of public opinion formation.
The CDU leadership continues to stand behind the firewall
However, the application’s chances of success are considered very moderate. The General Secretary of the Brandenburg CDU, Julian Brüning, responded to WELT’s question: “After extensive discussion, not only the CDU in Germany, but also the CDU in Brandenburg has repeatedly and clearly spoken out against coalitions and similar forms of cooperation with the AfD.”
At the same time, it is correct to “intensively engage in the maintenance of the AfD.” Especially when it comes to economic policy issues, it does not offer any concrete answers to the challenges of our time. “Developing this is also the task of SMEs and the Economic Union with its expertise in economic policy.”
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has also always emphasized his party’s separation from the AfD. Among other things, he said there was “no commonality” between the CDU and the AfD because the AfD, along with the European Union, the euro and NATO, had been fighting against the very foundations that made Germany strong in recent decades.
Discussions about overturning the incompatibility decision have been simmering among CDU members for a long time. Back in April 2025, the CDU district association Harz in Saxony-Anhalt called for an end to the firewall.