Senior politicians from the German centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are advocating for the party to continue its path further towards the Left just to avoid having to cooperate with the ‘far right’—as they like to call the right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
Speaking on public TV station ARD on Wednesday, May 20th, Daniel Günther, the CDU’s prime minister in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, argued that the AfD represented a far greater threat than Die Linke, the successor to East Germany’s former Communist ruling party.
“You cannot lump the AfD and Die Linke together,” he said, insisting that any future government formation “must happen without the AfD.”
The comments come ahead of crucial elections in two eastern German states, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in September, where polls show the AfD leading comfortably.
In both states, a government excluding the AfD may only be mathematically possible with support from Die Linke—despite a longstanding CDU party resolution formally ruling out cooperation with both parties.
Recently, André Schröder, a prominent CDU politician in Saxony-Anhalt, also suggested that the party’s resolution did not necessarily prevent practical cooperation with Die Linke.
Both these remarks confirm that the CDU has abandoned conservative principles in favour of a broad anti-AfD alliance stretching from the centre-right to the far left.
The party would now rather cooperate with the heirs of East Germany’s communist establishment than acknowledge the growing electoral appeal of the AfD, which campaigns primarily on opposition to mass migration, EU centralisation, and radical green policies.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD has surged to 42%, which means it could potentially secure an outright majority of seats in the state parliament. Die Linke polls at 12.6% here. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the party is in the lead with 36%—an almost 20-point increase compared to their result in 2021, way ahead of Die Linke at 12.8%
The AfD has also skyrocketed to 42%—double the CDU’s support—in another eastern German state, Saxony, according to a new INSA poll. Compare that with Die Linke’s 10%. AfD co-leader Alice Weidel reacted on X by accusing establishment parties of attacking ordinary citizens instead of addressing Germany’s problems.
Neue INSA-Umfrage: Die AfD in Sachsen ist mit 42 % inzwischen doppelt so stark wie die CDU! Wer linke Kampfschriften gegen die AfD verfasst und das Ehrenamt und große Teile der Bevölkerung verunglimpft, statt die Probleme dieses Landes zu lösen, der muss sich über solche… pic.twitter.com/fk89zpvdze
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) May 21, 2026
Meanwhile, in Günther’s home state of Schleswig-Holstein, the CDU’s support fell sharply to 27.6% at last year’s federal election, compared to the 43.4% it received in the 2022 state election. Die Linke stands at a mere 6% currently, compared with AfD’s 15%.
Instead of self-reflection and seeking ways to engage with the public, Günther has doubled down on calls for tougher action against the AfD and its online supporters.
Speaking at a conference in Berlin, he reiterated his desire for greater regulation of social media, public algorithms, and even a “real-name requirement” online to combat what he described as “hate and incitement.”
Unsurprisingly, he also backed a procedure to ban the AfD and urged stronger mobilisation against the party.
Such comments only justify the narrative that the establishment parties, worried about their loss of support, are increasingly willing to silence opposition voices while calling a democratic opposition party a “danger” to the state.