Saskia Ludwig, the Christian Democrat (CDU) member of the Bundestag from Brandenburg, is stirring the political pot by questioning the “firewall” aimed at isolating the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Her view breaks with the mainstream of the party, but is also a view increasingly shared in the east of Germany, where the AfD is strongest.
While Ludwig remains firm against a formal coalition, she suggests a CDU-led minority government in Saxony-Anhalt should be pragmatic enough to accept AfD support on a case-by-case basis.
The electoral math may be forcing Ludwig to take this stance. The latest polling has the AfD at 39 percent in Saxony-Anhalt, while the CDU is only at 26 percent. If such a vote comes to pass, the AfD will be the strongest party in the German state by a wide margin, making it nearly impossible for the state to function without the AfD’s votes.
Ludwig argued that a minority government should be able to pass legislation regardless of where the supporting votes come from, provided the policy is sound. Speaking to Spiegel, she emphasized her respect for the electorate, noting: “Personally, I think that a voter’s vote should be taken very seriously.“
When pushed on whether a CDU government should rely on AfD votes, she said she was focused on the quality of the policy: “If you submit good, sensible proposals that are good for the country, then you must also use those who have been given the mandate to vote.”
In other words, Ludwig may be preparing for a reality where a vote can only go through with the AfD’s support.
Ludwig’s core argument is that government policy needs to align with how people actually vote. She believes that if the majority leans right, the policy should follow suit:
“If 50 percent or more than 50 percent vote center-right, then there must also be center-right politics,” she said.
Much to the CDU’s detriment, the party’s inability to form an alliance with the AfD has led it to embrace more and more left-wing politics, including on the issue of migration. However, the CDU’s leftward shift was already in place under former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who famously opened her country to mass illegal immigration.
The CDU leadership, at least up until now, has had a very different view. Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed no more cooperation with the AfD after his party voted one time on the issue of migration in the Bundestag. There are even some within the CDU party who have proposed banning the AfD entirely.
Other high-profile CDU members have harshly condemned the AfD.
“The AfD only knows opposition and division,” said Kai Wegner, the CDU mayor of Berlin. “The CDU cannot and will not work with a party whose business model is hatred, division and exclusion,” he added.
Despite this openness to cooperation, Ludwig drew a hard line at formalizing any partnership, stating: “I stand by the fact that a coalition with the AfD is not feasible.“
The MP is vocal about her belief that current tactics to sideline the AfD are actually fueling their rise. She views the current political climate as a failure of pluralism: “Democracy means balance and not exclusion, and I believe what we are seeing is the result of an exclusion strategy.“
Furthermore, she argues the very concept of a “firewall” is the problem, not the solution: “I think this firewall discussion is wrong. In my opinion, the firewall is to blame for these percentages growing –and they help the AfD and they help the left.“
