Value Union
Werte Union e.V.
Established1 January 2017 (2017-01-01)
Founded atStuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
TypePolitical association
Legal statusEingetragener Verein (e. V.)
Focus
  • Conservative Politic
  • Alt Right
  • Innerparty lobbying for conservative values
HeadquartersMunich, Bavaria, Germany
Official language
German
Chairmen
Hans-Georg Maaßen
Vice-Chairwomen
Simone Braun
Vice-Chairmen
Peter Matschuk
Vice-Chairmen
Hans-Otto Pistner
Affiliations4.000
Websitewww.werteunion.de (in German)

The Values Union (German: WerteUnion) is a German registered association[1] that considers itself to be a "conservative grassroots movement"[2] within the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU).[3]

According to its own information by 2022, the "Values Union"​​ has around 4,000 members; around 3,000 are also members of the CDU.[4]

History

The Values Union was founded in 2017 and mostly included the CDU members seeking to reestablish their party's conservative roots. The CDU's executive committee did not recognize the Values Union as a party subdivision. The critics accused the Values Union to be close to Alternative for Germany (AfD).[5] Quite small at the time group argued against Angela Merkel's approaches to euro rescue and the 2015 European migrant crisis. One of the founders, Hans-Georg Maaßen, refused to rule out potential coalitions with AfD in the medium-term. The 2019 resolution of the presidium and executive committee of the CDU related to the murder of Walter Lübcke indirectly accused Maaßen and the Values Union of complicity: "Anyone who supports the AfD must know that they are poisoning the social climate and brutalizing the political discourse". At the time statements by the CDU leadership could have been interpreted as supporting expulsion of Maaßen from the party.[6]

The Values Union has been described as Germany's Tea Party.[7] The Values Union has no official party affiliation and its role within the CDU/CSU is highly controversial.[2][3] It has around 4,000 official members.[3] In the 2018 leadership election the Values Union supported Friedrich Merz.[8]

The federal leadership of the CDU initiated expulsion of Maaßen in February of 2023.[9] In the beginning of 2024 Maaßen announced a vote among the association members in order to turn the Values Union into a political party that will take an anti-immigration course.[10]

The deputy federal chairwoman and North Rhine-Westphalia state leader of the Values ​​Union, Simone Baum, took part in a secret networking meeting between the AfD and other right-wing extremists.[11] At the meeting, the right-wing extremist participants discussed how an expulsion or “remigration” of migrants and people who think differently politically in Germany would be possible.[12] The CDU initiated party expulsion proceedings against Simone Braun.[13]

Structure

Federal presidency:

Former members:

  • Alexander Mitsch,[17] co-founder and first federal president of Values Union[18]
  • Werner Josef Patzelt, political scientist and university professor[16]

References

  1. ↑ Unzufriedene CDU-Konservative: Was die Werteunion ist und was sie will, ZDF
  2. 1 2 tagesschau.de. "Kritik an Werteunion: CDU-Politiker fordern Auflösung". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  3. 1 2 3 "Werteunion - Max Otte, die CDU und die AfD". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  4. ↑ deutschlandfunk.de. "Werteunion - Max Otte, die CDU und die AfD". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  5. ↑ Grotz & Schroeder 2023, p. 192.
  6. ↑ Oppelland 2020, pp. 60–61.
  7. ↑ Schaer, Cathrin (2021-06-13). "Germany's Tea Party seeks to move country to the right". The New European. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  8. ↑ Chef der Werteunion bevorzugt Merz als neuen CDU-Chef
  9. ↑ tagesschau.de. "CDU-Vorstand beschließt Ausschlussverfahren gegen Maaßen" (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  10. ↑ Geuther, Gudula (5 January 2024). "Hans-Georg Maaßen will Werteunion zur Partei machen" (in German). Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Daniel, Isabelle; dpa (2024-01-12). "Geheimtreffen in Potsdam: CDU leitet Parteiausschlussverfahren gegen ein Mitglied ein". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  12. ↑ "Correctiv-Recherche: Zwei Oberbergerinnen bei Geheimtreffen zur Vertreibung von Migranten". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  13. ↑ "Geheimtreffen mit AfD-Beteiligung: „Abstoßend und widerlich" – CDU leitet Parteiausschlussverfahren ein". www.fr.de (in German). 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  14. ↑ WELT (2019-10-13). "Alexander Mitsch: Vorsitzender der Werteunion verliert CDU-Posten". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  15. ↑ "Werteunion - Max Otte, die CDU und die AfD". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  16. 1 2 "Max Otte als AfD-Kandidat – Zerbröselt die Werteunion?". www.rnd.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  17. ↑ "Ex-Vorsitzender Alexander Mitsch verlässt die Werte-Union". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). 2021-07-05. ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  18. ↑ "Ex-Werteunion-Chef Mitsch: Werteunion sollte sich auflösen". www.rnd.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-27.

Sources

  • Grotz, Florian; Schroeder, Wolfgang (2023). "Political Parties and the Party System". The Political System of Germany. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 183–236. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-32480-2_6. ISBN 978-3-031-32479-6.
  • Oppelland, Torsten (2020). "Die CDU: Volkspartei am Ende der Ära Merkel". Die Parteien nach der Bundestagswahl 2017 (in German). Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. pp. 43–69. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-29771-8_2. ISBN 978-3-658-29770-1.


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