Germany’s Christian Democrats, formerly led by Angela Merkel, are scrutinizing public funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) following their recent electoral victory. A parliamentary inquiry has been launched by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian counterpart, the Christian Social Union (CSU), targeting NGOs that lack “political neutrality.”
The inquiry follows nationwide protests prompted by CDU leader Friedrich Merz’s cooperation with the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) in a failed attempt to curb illegal immigration. The CDU notes that some of the protests appeared to be organized by “state-funded organizations,” amounting to “targeted party-political influence.”
Since then, the CDU has placed first in national elections and is anticipated to lead the next government—likely with the left, as it cooperates with Germany’s other parties in shutting out the second-placed AfD.
The inquiry, signed by CDU leader Merz and CSU parliamentary group leader Alexander Dobrindt, demands details on public funding for various non-profit organizations. Among the groups highlighted are influential think tanks Agora Energiewende and Dezernat Zukunft, environmental organizations like Greenpeace and BUND, and media outlet Correctiv.
President Donald J. Trump has been moving to defund activist organizations of government funding in the United States, with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its supporters complaining it is “under siege” by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and “crippled” by funding freezes, for instance.