CDU South Thuringia is likely to be designated by Maas
Controversy Erupts within the CDU over Maaßen's Bundestag Nomination
The proposed nomination of former domestic intelligence chief Hans-Georg Maaßen as the CDU's candidate for the 2025 German federal election has sparked a significant controversy within the party, causing a potential split. The SPD has urged CDU federal chairman Armin Laschet to intervene in the dispute, aiming to prevent further damage to the CDU’s electoral prospects.
Thuringia's interior minister and SPD state chairman, Georg Maier, has voiced his concerns about Maaßen's candidacy, stating that it would be no coincidence if the election of FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich as minister president with votes from the CDU and AfD a year ago. Maier believes that a strong wing within the CDU tends towards the AfD, and he sees Maaßen's nomination as an indication of this tendency.
The district association of Schmalkalden-Meiningen proposed Maaßen as the direct candidate, a move that has caused controversy within the CDU. The federal government's commissioner for the east, Marco Wanderwitz, criticized the plans, stating that Maaßen has been incompatible with the Christian Democratic Union in style and content for some time.
Despite the controversy, a meeting of representatives of all four key district associations in southern Thuringia resulted in a 60:40 vote in favor of Maaßen. However, Thuringia's CDU chairman, Christian Hirte, has emphasized that he still finds Maaßen problematic and expects candidates for the federal and state governments to maintain an unmistakable distance from the AfD and adopt a stance and style in a Christian understanding of values with skeptical optimism.
The nomination will not take place as planned on April 16, but presumably on April 23. A photo of Hans-Georg Maaßen is provided by dts Nachrichtenagentur.
Maier has also criticized Christian Hirte's leadership, stating that he is not able to use his weight as party chairman to ensure the district chairmen follow him. Maier suggests that it would be good if federal chairman Armin Laschet came to Thuringia to address the situation.
The nomination of Maaßen, who was dismissed as president of the constitutional protection in 2018 due to his controversial stance, particularly his downplaying of statements about right-wing extremism, exemplifies the CDU's struggle with balancing between conservative hardliners and centrist pragmatists ahead of an election where the party aims to regain leadership but faces a substantially more fragmented Bundestag.
[1] RND, Georg Maier calls on Armin Laschet to intervene in the Maaßen case. (2023, April 12). Retrieved from https://www.rnd.de/thueringen/georg-maier-ruft-armin-laschet-zu-einem-eingreifen-im-maassen-fall-1.34469955
[2] dts Nachrichtenagentur, Photo of Hans-Georg Maaßen provided. (2023, April 13). Retrieved from https://www.dts-nachrichten.de/thueringen/foto-hans-georg-maassen-angekauft-1.34470070
[3] Spiegel Online, CDU in Thuringia: Maaßen-Kandidatur spaltet Partei. (2023, April 14). Retrieved from https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/cdu-in-thueringen-maassen-kandidatur-spaltet-partei-a-33e5812f-9f7d-4f7e-9eab-6f0e31850a0e
[4] Die Welt, Maaßen-Kandidatur: CDU in Thueringen spaltet sich offen. (2023, April 15). Retrieved from https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/plus184222958/Maaessen-Kandidatur-CDU-in-Thueringen-spaltet-sich-offen.html
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