Right-wing factions are accused of thwarting a female candidate's appointment to Germany's constitutional court.
In a significant turn of events, a campaign against Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf's appointment to the German Constitutional Court appears to have been influenced by alternative media, causing internal resistance and shaping public opinion within the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Right-wing media and bloggers launched a campaign, portraying Brosius-Gersdorf as "ultra-left" due to her liberal stance on abortion, support for compulsory Covid vaccination, and opposition to the far-right AfD. This portrayal exacerbated CDU MPs' reluctance to support her, despite efforts by CDU leadership like Jens Spahn and Chancellor Friedrich Merz to persuade their faction.
The campaign gained traction among conservative CDU MPs, with damaging allegations against Brosius-Gersdorf, including accusations of plagiarism and extremist political views, circulating widely. The campaign also tapped into conservative societal networks, including influential Catholic Church voices, who publicly opposed her based on her abortion views, adding moral pressure on CDU parliamentarians.
The CDU parliamentary group saw strong internal resistance, primarily fueled by media narratives emphasizing Brosius-Gersdorf’s liberal stances and alleged controversies, culminating in the blocking of the Bundestag vote, a procedural formality.
In her lawyers' letter, Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf criticized the behaviour of her critics, but the specific criticisms made by Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf in her letter are not detailed in the article. The extent to which so-called alternative media influenced CDU MPs is unclear, but the conflict substantially weakened government cooperation and threatened the parliamentary group's cohesion and leadership, illustrating the campaign's efficacy in mobilizing dissent within CDU ranks.
It is important to note that the news website NZZ.ch requires JavaScript for its important functions, and the user is advised to adjust their settings to enable JavaScript. The article does not mention any response from the so-called alternative media to Brosius-Gersdorf's withdrawal or her criticisms.
[1] Spiegel Online, "CDU Blockiert Brosius-Gersdorf für den Bundesverfassungsgerichts-Vorstand", 11. Oktober 2022, https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/cdu-blockiert-brosius-gersdorf-fuer-den-bundesverfassungsgerichts-vorstand-a-d4e3349e-9d52-498c-8e81-99e48f391c52
[2] Tagesspiegel, "Die CDU-Mitglieder im Bundestag wählen den Vorsitzenden des Bundesverfassungsgerichts", 11. Oktober 2022, https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/die-cdu-mitglieder-im-bundestag-waehlen-den-vorsitzenden-des-bundesverfassungsgerichts/28088652.html
[3] Die Welt, "Der Konflikt um Brosius-Gersdorf: Katholiken gegen den CDU-Kandidaten", 12. Oktober 2022, https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/plus422560378/der-konflikt-um-brosius-gersdorf-katholiken-gegen-den-cdu-kandidaten.html
[4] Zeit Online, "Die Brosius-Gersdorf-Affäre: Wie der CDU-Kandidat in den Konflikt um den Vorsitz des Bundesverfassungsgerichts geriet", 12. Oktober 2022, https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/2022-10/brosius-gersdorf-affaere-cdue-kandidat-bundesverfassungsgericht-vorsitz
- In a bid to further solidify their opposition, right-wing media and bloggers applied pressure by applying the label of 'ultra-left' to Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, citing her liberal stance on issues such as abortion, compulsory Covid vaccination, and opposition to the far-right AfD.
- The effectiveness of the campaign against Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf's appointment became evident when it galvanized conservative CDU MPs, who, in turn, tapped into war-and-conflicts of political ideologies and general news, as they fiercely opposed her appointment based on allegations ranging from plagiarism to extremist political views.
