CDU Launches Brochure Campaign Targeting AfD as Threat to Democracy

The CDU has initiated a pointed campaign directly targeting the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bundestag by distributing a brochure titled "Abstieg für Deutschland" (Decline for Germany). This approximately 30-page pamphlet, sent to all AfD Bundestag members, brands the AfD as a threat to German democracy, labeling it völkisch and antisemitic. It accuses the party of working to abolish democracy, backing these claims with statements from leading AfD figures and referencing the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution's designation of certain AfD state chapters as extremist.

A CDU spokesperson confirmed the mailing, which followed an event where AfD faction manager Bernd Baumann was seen collecting a copy at the CDU's Berlin headquarters. The brochure was sent to spare AfD members the trip and was accompanied by a letter emphasizing the importance of acknowledging the troubling influences within the AfD. The brochure even includes a template for a resignation letter from the AfD, encouraging members to leave the party.

Bernd Baumann dismissed the brochure as "lies pamphlets" and "joke letters," criticizing the CDU for focusing on the AfD instead of pressing economic and social issues. He argued that this misprioritization partly explains the AfD's stronger standing in current polls compared to the CDU.

Demand for the brochure has been substantial, with the CDU ordering more than 25,000 printed copies and offering it for download online. Multiple reprints have been necessary due to high interest. This bold move marks a clear political confrontation and a strategic CDU effort to publicly isolate the AfD and expose its extremist tendencies in the Bundestag.

The distribution of the brochure is a timely development amidst ongoing political debates within Germany, reflecting the CDU’s explicit stance to challenge the AfD's influence directly in the federal parliament.