Hans-Georg Maaßen, Germany’s former domestic intelligence chief has announced his intention to break away from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to establish a new political party. Maaßen serves as the chairman of the Values Union, a grassroots conservative movement.
At its general meeting set to be held in Erfurt, Thuringia on January 20th, the organization plans to change its statutes and transfer its naming rights to a newly founded party called Values Union (WerteUnion).
“If the general meeting agrees to these far-reaching changes, this would be the first step towards a separation of the Values Union from the CDU and CSU,” Maaßen said.
The new party, the former BfV chief said, will be based on the “classic positions of the Union parties.” He added that, if successfully established, the party could run in this year’s elections in the eastern German states of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg.
According to the latest polling data, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) commands the support of 37%, 36%, and 32% of the population in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg, respectively. If Maaßen’s party does run in these states’ elections, set to be held this coming September, it will likely siphon off votes from both the CDU and the AfD. To what extent, however, remains to be seen.
As things stand, even though nearly half of the German population supports the AfD’s participation in government, all parties with a parliamentary presence have ruled out the possibility of forming a government with it. This could potentially change if Maaßen’s party were to run and garner a considerable number of seats.
Maaßen stated that he would work with all parties that are “ready for a change in policy in Germany,” leaving the door open for future cooperation with the AfD. Previously, he has argued that all firewalls should be torn down.
The former spy boss didn’t hesitate to level sharp criticism against CDU party leader Friedrich Merz for wanting to continue what he described as the “left-wing course” taken by former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Maaßen wrote:
Unfortunately, the past year has shown that Merz and the current federal executive committee of the CDU are not ready for a policy change. The decision to exclude the Values Union and the party expulsion proceedings against its chairman shows that the CDU under Merz is fighting any course correction.
Merkel’s policies have caused significant damage to Germany in all political areas. The recent statement by the General Secretary of the CDU that Merkel had ‘governed the country well’ confirms the impression that the Merz CDU has not understood the catastrophic situation Germany is in and that it is not prepared to deal with the situation for this. The German people have to deal with Merkel’s catastrophic policies.
The Values Union boasts a membership of around 4,000 people and already has 16 state associations, which puts the formation well ahead of other start-up parties looking to establish themselves as a regional or nationwide political force.
Maaßen’s announcement comes just months after Sahra Wagenknecht—who similarly to Maaßen was ostracized from her party for having anti-establishment, anti-mass migration positions—broke away from Die Linke to form a new party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance for Reason and Justice (BSW). Whether the BSW will run in this fall’s state elections is unsure. Party chairman Amira Mohamed Ali said last week the party’s financial situation may force it to abandon state elections to instead focus on the European Parliament elections.
