The bigger issue is probably that while everybody was distracted by the rise of the AfD (in eastern Germany), at least parts of the East German CDU also started to move far to the right. Compared to their, let's say, more classically liberal West German counterparts in NRW, Hesse, or Schleswig-Holstein they've practically become a separate party of their own now, which has also caused more frequent friction between eastern state chapters and the head office in Berlin.
Has there ever been talk of the East German CDU chapters joining CSU instead?
