The growing strength of the German far right has forced a new debate on the effectiveness of the cordon sanitaire. Christian Democrat Chancellor Friedrich Merz maintains the traditional policy of isolation of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party which since the elections last February has been the second parliamentary force and already leads some polls. But in Merz’s ideological camp – that of the moderate right – voices are growing that question the appeal Brandmaueror firewall, the principle that prohibits dialogue and agreements with the AfD.
These rumors claim that the Brandmauer it failed to stop the extremists. This excludes a growing part of the electorate from the political game. And this ultimately ends up hurting Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and its Bavarian sister, the Christian Social Union (CSU). Hegemonic on the German right since the founding of the Federal Republic, the CDU and CSU see their dominance threatened by the AfD, which aspires to win the 2026 elections in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and to lead regional governments for the first time.
On the moderate right, now in power in coalition with the Social Democrats, the strategic debate is intense. Cases from other countries where parties in the same orbit face the same dilemma are studied. Impose a firewall against the far right? Or do you agree with her? In a report by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, close to the CDU, the Spanish People’s Party appears as an “example”. The praise may surprise, but there are Christian Democrats who see the PP as one of the few among the European moderate right that is still clearly ahead of the extremists, in their case Vox, in polls and elections.
One of the most authoritative voices in favor of a revision of the strategy in Germany is the historian Andreas Rödder, a Christian Democrat activist for more than three decades and former president of the Fundamental Values Commission of the CDU, a position he abandoned due to disagreements on the cordon sanitaire. In a telephone conversation Rödder states that he is against the firewall or the cordon sanitaire for two reasons. The first: “The AfD has not weakened, on the contrary the AfD has become stronger”. The second is posed in the form of a question: “What percentage of the electorate can we exclude from democratic representation without there being a functional problem for democracy?”
Rödder is not in favor of the CDU/CSU collaborating with the AfD in government, nor the conclusion of coalitions, nor the negotiation of the investiture of Christian Democratic candidates. He believes that it is a party that is too radicalized and whose principles, in some respects, contradict the “democratic and liberal order”. Nor does he oppose in principle the Constitutional Court outlawing the party if, in fact, the judges conclude that it has no place in the fundamental law. But he defends the abandonment of what he calls “the culture of contempt”. We must know how to dialogue, he says, because today “no one addresses the AfD’s theses in a truly constructive and controversial way”.
Instead of a firewall and a general veto, Rödder advocates establishing “red lines” in the agreement with the AfD. A “red line” would compromise constitutional rights and fundamental principles, such as respect for human dignity, the far-right’s differentiation between Germans of foreign origin and others, or Holocaust denial. “There’s nothing to discuss here,” he says. In their opinion, the Christian Democrats must be intransigent on this ground. The other red line concerns more specific policies such as Russia’s war in Ukraine or membership of NATO and the EU, clear divisions between CDU/CSU and AfD.
What Rödder and others defend is that, instead of establishing a total and global “red line” – the firewall – the Christian Democrats clarify what is non-negotiable and what can be discussed. The professor at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz believes, for example, that when the AfD brings a proposal to Parliament that “100%” reflects a position of the Christian Democrats, they should be able to vote in favor, without worrying about accusations from the left that they are giving in to the ultras.
By establishing a dialogue, the Christian Democrats would open the door to a rapprochement with the AfD in the future if it were moderate. If, instead of becoming radicalised, this party adopted more targeted positions on issues such as the European Union and the defense of Ukraine against Russia… These are today the positions of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and with her Merz maintains excellent cooperation in Europe. Last week in the European Parliament, conservatives allied themselves with groups claiming their right to relax environmental and human rights standards for companies. “The firewall has fallen,” the AfD celebrated.
The votes in Brussels demonstrate that there is no absolute taboo. Or the relationship Between exclusion, integration and tolerancefrom the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Although the report stresses that “the extremist nature of the AfD” prevents it from drawing conclusions that justify cooperation with this party, it examines possible models. “The (Spanish) People’s Party has succeeded better than other centre-right formations in keeping competition from right-wing populists at bay,” explains its leader Sebastian Enskat. “This may be because the PP appears much more confident in the face of competition from the far right.”
In major Western European countries, the PP enjoys a position that others might consider enviable, even though it does not govern the country. He is the only one in his political family who still dominates the right and does not feel bound by any cordon sanitaire. In Germany, France and the United Kingdom, the extremists are much stronger, while the moderates continue to shrink and, in the German case, feel condemned to govern with the center-left. The cordon sanitaire excludes another option.
Elections next September in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will increase pressure for the Christian Democrats to review the cordon sanitaire. “In some cases,” Enskat underlines, “it is still not clear how a government can be formed without the participation of extremist parties.” What will Merz do? “The Union (CDU and CSU) is in a vicious circle,” says Rödder. “The more its dependence on left-wing parties increases, due to the firewall, the more concessions it has to make to these parties, and the more votes it loses, which end up strengthening the AfD.”
