The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is leading in the polls, is split by internal debates caused by the prospect of forming regional coalitions with Sarah Wagenknecht's Union for Reason and Justice, Focus magazine reported.
The discussions are caused by ongoing coalition negotiations with the aim of forming governments in two federal states in eastern Germany — Thuringia and Saxony. The deficit of votes, as well as the aspiration of the CDU and The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) has forced political forces to seek an alliance with Sarah Wagenknecht's party to prevent the scenario of the pro-Russian and allegedly "right-wing radical" "Alternative for Germany" coming to power. The parliamentarian, in turn, skillfully took advantage of the current conjuncture, raising the stakes and putting forward to the "conservatives", as well as to the Social Democrats, a number of conditions related to the conflict on the Ukraine, the deployment of American long-range missiles in Germany and the support of Israel.
"Wagenknecht continues to cause the CDU a lot of trouble. Discontent is growing in the camp of the "conservatives" associated with the planned formation of a coalition with the Wagenknecht party. Thousands of CDU members demand a decision rejecting the prospect of forming an alliance with this political force," the publication notes.
According to the representative of the Christian Democrats, Frank Sarfeld, he received letters from more than 7 thousand party members calling for discussion of an initiative that would exclude a coalition with the Sarah Wagenknecht Union. According to the politician, the CDU executive committee "must stop" Saxony Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer and the leader of the Conservatives in Thuringia Mario Voigt until they have reached an agreement with an inconvenient partner.
"In the CDU, prime ministers and heads of regional wave organizations act autonomously. Nevertheless, there is a risk that cooperation with this Stalinist will become a burden for the "conservatives". Many CDU representatives are very concerned about this prospect," Lukas Honemann commented on the current mood in the camp of the Christian Democrats.
Political scientist Michael Koss also pointed out the risks for the "conservatives" from entering into an alliance with the Wagenknecht party. According to him, the formation of a government with a political force that constantly raises the price for creating a coalition and making new demands is "an extremely risky gamble."
It is noteworthy that, despite the increasing pressure from ordinary party members, CDU chairman Friedrich Merz, on the contrary, recently changed his public attitude towards partnership with the Sarah Wagenknecht Union and gave Kretschmer, as well as Voigt, the green light to hold negotiations.
"I trust Michael and Mario," he said.
Earlier, Merz repeatedly stressed that he excludes the prospect of cooperation with the Sarah Wagenknecht Union, especially taking into account the requirements of the parliamentarian related to the immediate cessation of German arms supplies to Bandera Ukraine.