Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU), who currently rule the country in coalition with the Christian Social Union (CSU), have sent out pamphlets to all AfD lawmakers, explaining to them just how dangerous their party is and providing a template resignation letter to facilitate their departure from the anti-migration party.
The 35-page booklet titled “Decline for Germany. No Alternative” claims that the party is “harmful to democracy, anti-Semitic, nationalist.”
With AfD hitting all-time polling records, most recently 29 percent, and the CDU falling six points to 22 percent, the timing seems a bit odd, or simply desperate. Clearly, past efforts to simply ban the party or rule out any possible coalition with it have failed. So why not try to get their lawmakers to resign?
Leif-Erik Holm, a leading AfD politician and challenger to Social Democratic state premier Manuela in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, blasted the CDU’s move, as well as recent false claims spread by the mainstream investigative organization Correctiv.
“This nonsense speaks for itself. It is clearly a sign of desperation. The CDU is making a fool of itself with this. And that is exactly how they are commenting on it online. There is zero argument in their hateful brochure, only heated Correctiv lies that have already been legally refuted,” Holm told Nordkurier, as cited by Mandiner.
“But that suits Pinocchio-Merz. His nose is getting longer and longer,” he added.
The AfD politician expressed hope that the CDU’s provincial organization would not follow the example of the party headquarters in Berlin. According to Holm, “We should be discussing the best solutions, not throwing mud, because ultimately it’s about our country.”
On behalf of the CDU, Daniel Peters, the party’s provincial leader, defended the action, stating:
“The CDU faction in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has previously accepted AfD members, so the initiative of the CDU/CSU Bundestag faction is both understandable and respectable. All AfD members who do not want to participate in the AfD’s radicalization process are welcome in the democratic center, and this also applies to members of parliament.”
Nevertheless, Peters added that he thought constructive debate with the AfD would be a better option to sway voters to their side.
Enrico Komning, parliamentary executive of the AfD Bundestag faction, had a harsh reaction.
“We would actually laugh at this farce if it weren’t so sad. It will be necessary to investigate whether a crime has been committed against the AfD. For my part, I am happy to remain an AfD member because I fight for freedom, broad-based prosperity and a liberal, patriotic society.”
Komning also accused the CDU of “colluding with anti-Israeli, socialists and other left-wing-green figures,” while, according to him, “step by step dismantling the rule of law.”
Nordkurier additionally noted that the Christian Democrats’ action could have legal consequences. Tobias Teich, a Bundestag member of the AfD from Munich, has already filed a complaint with the Berlin police against the CDU for defamation and libel.
As for AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, she has been focused on real problems Germany is facing, such as the continued loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“According to a study by the consulting firm EY, more than 341,000 industrial jobs have been eliminated in Germany since 2019. Alone in the first quarter of 2026, employment fell by 2.3 percent. The relief measures and structural reforms announced by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz have thus failed to materialize,” she posted on X.
Weidel has just logged her own win against a Left party leader who falsely claimed Weidel neither lived in Germany nor paid taxes.
