Brandenburg CDU debates ending exclusion of AfD (Brandmauer) within party

The Brandenburg branch of the CDU’s business wing, the Mittelstands‑ und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT), has lodged a formal request to overturn the party’s “Brandmauer” – the incompatibility rule that bars cooperation with the AfD. The proposal calls on the state CDU to lobby the federal party to repeal or substantially revise the Unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss against the AfD, arguing that the current policy isolates a large share of voters. It cites recent polling that puts the AfD at 37 % in Brandenburg, ahead of the governing SPD, and stresses that democratic debate should not be limited to those parties that are not banned.

Party officials in Brandenburg, including secretary‑general Julian Brüning, and the federal CDU leadership under Friedrich Merz, have rejected the motion, reaffirming the stance that the AfD offers no concrete solutions on economic issues and should remain excluded. The debate reflects growing pressure on the CDU as the AfD leads nationwide polls ahead of upcoming state elections in Saxony‑Anhalt, Berlin and Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern.