Former Saxon CDU officials warn against coalition with BSW

Former officials of the CDU in Saxony are continuing to campaign against a possible coalition between their party and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). In a letter to the CDU state executive, a group led by former member of the Bundestag Arnold Vaatz urgently warned against cooperation with the BSW. CDU headquarters confirmed receipt and authenticity of the letter.

With the BSW and "a 'neo-Bolshevik' as a figurehead, the Saxon CDU is catching the concrete wing of the former SED", according to the open letter, which also includes the names of former state parliament president Matthias Rößler, former Dresden mayor Herbert Wagner and former state parliament members Volker Bandmann and Volker Schimpff. Instead of an alliance with the BSW, they are calling for a minority government.

A coalition with the BSW would be "the Saxon CDU's break with its own history since 1989 and a slap in the face of the peaceful revolution and many of its representatives who are still alive", the signatories state. At the same time, they questioned the firewall to the AfD. "The AfD certainly didn't build a wall and imprison 17 million people in it for almost thirty years. And firewalls will certainly not bring their voters back."

A few days ago, former leading CDU members from the Leipzig area - including former Saxon ministers Manfred Kolbe and Frank Kupfer as well as two district councillors - had already campaigned for a dialog with the AfD. Kolbe, Kupfer and District Administrator Gerhard Gey are also under the recent letter.