German CDU debates ending AfD firewall while criticizing Die Linke over submarine contract

CDU parliamentary group leader Daniel Peters warned that Die Linke’s opposition to the Canadian‑German deal for twelve submarines built by TKMS in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern harms the region’s economic outlook. He noted the contract will create 1,500‑1,700 well‑paid industrial jobs at the Wismar shipyard and argued that future state support is needed to secure such high‑skill employment.

In Brandenburg, two members of the CDU’s Mittelstands‑ und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT) submitted a proposal to lift the party’s “firewall” (Unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss) with the AfD, claiming the ban restricts democratic competition. Party officials, including MIT federal chair Gitta Connemann and parliamentary staffer Steffen Bilger, rejected the motion, stating the AfD’s platform is incompatible with the CDU’s values and that cooperation would threaten the interests of the middle class.