Rhein demands AfD committee chairs – but rules out cooperation

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Hesse's Minister President Boris Rhein is causing a stir with an unusual position. The CDU state chief wants the AfD to take over committee chairs in the Bundestag – but at the same time rules out any substantive cooperation with the party. This is reported by Tagesschau.

At first glance, that sounds contradictory. But for Rhein, the two points are apparently no contradiction: from his perspective, institutional integration of the AfD through committee chairs is possible without the CDU cooperating substantively with the party.

Hesse's Minister President Rhein rules out substantive cooperation with the AfD. In the view of the CDU state chief, however, the party should also be able to take over committee chairs in the Bundestag.

What committee chairs in the Bundestag mean

The chairs of the Bundestag committees determine what lands on the table: they set agendas, invite experts to hearings, and shape the substantive work of the respective body. If a parliamentary group takes on such positions, it can have a greater say in the parliamentary debate even without being part of the government.

Who is Boris Rhein?

Boris Rhein has been Minister President of Hesse since 2022 and is the CDU state chief in the state. With his demand for AfD committee chairs, he is positioning himself in a debate that has been going on for months at the federal and state level.

What this triggers politically

It will be interesting to see how the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag and the sister party CSU respond to the push from Wiesbaden. The statement comes at a time when the question of how far the democratic parties will transfer institutional responsibility to the AfD is being renegotiated.