Social Democrat wants to mediate in the dispute over the Constitutional Court

Berlin. Former Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse (SPD), a long-time member of the Central Committee of German Catholics, has called on his own party, as well as the CDU/CSU, to exercise restraint and tolerance in the dispute over Constitutional Court candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf. "I advise my own party to tone down the intensity of the debate and not to view critical statements as merely a campaign – even if there has been incitement," he told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "One should not hold it against representatives of the Catholic Church for expressing their fundamental convictions on the issue of the human dignity of unborn life. If one expressly desires statements from the churches on certain topics, then one should not insult them if one dislikes statements on other topics."

Thierse continued: "I advise the Union to accept that the Federal Constitutional Court also reflects the plurality of convictions – as long as they are within the framework of our Basic Law."

The Catholic Social Democrat appealed: "Overall, it would be good if we now dealt thoroughly with the issues at hand and allowed candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf to speak for herself."

Recently, politicians from the CDU and CSU, as well as representatives of the Catholic Church, heavily criticized Brosius-Gersdorf for her liberal stance on abortion issues, declaring her unelectable. In response, prominent SPD politicians emphasized that she remained the party's candidate. Due to the CDU/CSU's opposition to Brosius-Gersdorf, the elections for all three candidates for the Federal Constitutional Court were removed from the Bundestag's agenda on Friday. What will happen next remains unclear.