Berlin CDU district branch weighs breaking taboo on backing AfD motions

The Christian Democratic Union in Berlin's Reinickendorf district is considering ending its long-standing refusal to vote for motions put forward by the far-right Alternative for Germany, following a sharp drop in support at the recent Berlin election, party members said.

For roughly three decades, the CDU has held the mayor's office in Reinickendorf, a district in northern Berlin, almost without interruption. That dominance had made the local party among the most self-assured branches of the CDU in the capital.

The mood shifted after the latest Berlin election, in which the CDU's vote share in the district collapsed from more than 40 percent to just over 27 percent. Party members described it as the district branch's worst result since 1950.

The scale of the loss has prompted calls within the local party for an urgent change of direction. Members say the old approach, built on the assumption of near-automatic electoral dominance, no longer reflects the district's political reality.

Among the ideas now circulating is a departure from the so-called "Brandmauer", the informal but firmly upheld principle among mainstream German parties of refusing to cooperate with or support motions from the AfD. In Reinickendorf, some CDU figures are no longer ruling out voting in favour of AfD-sponsored proposals in local council business.

One person familiar with the internal discussions described the idea as a "Versuchsballon", a trial balloon floated to test reaction within the party and among voters, rather than a formal policy decision. No vote or binding resolution on the matter has yet been reported.

The prospect has stirred debate inside the district party, reflecting a broader tension across Germany's conservative movement over how to respond to the AfD's growing strength at the ballot box without abandoning the cross-party consensus that has kept the far-right party isolated from governing coalitions at every level since its founding.

Supporters of a shift in Reinickendorf argue that the CDU's traditional approach failed to stem the loss of voters in the latest election and that the party must respond to shifting public sentiment in the district. Critics within the CDU, including at state and federal level, have in the past warned that cooperation with the AfD on any level risks normalising the party and eroding the barrier that has kept it out of formal power-sharing arrangements.

The CDU's federal leadership has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to the Brandmauer in recent years, insisting there will be no coalition or formal cooperation with the AfD at national or state level. Any shift at district level in Berlin would not alter national party policy, but it could set a precedent that other local branches facing similar electoral pressure might watch closely.

Reinickendorf's result mirrors a wider pattern seen across several Berlin districts and German states, where the CDU has lost ground to the AfD among voters concerned about migration, crime and economic stagnation. The AfD has made significant gains in state and federal elections in recent years, particularly in eastern Germany, but has also expanded its support in parts of western Germany and the capital.

No timetable has been given for when or whether the Reinickendorf CDU might formally decide its position on backing AfD motions. Local party structures in Berlin operate with a degree of autonomy on district-level votes, though any significant departure from the national line on AfD cooperation would likely draw scrutiny from the CDU's Berlin state leadership and from the federal party headquarters.

Discussions within the district branch are reported to be ongoing, with members divided over whether a shift in strategy would recover lost voters or further damage the party's standing among those who oppose any accommodation with the AfD.

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