The Center for Political Beauty (Zentrum für Politische Schönheit), a prominent German political art collective, has installed a life-size statue of Walter Lübcke in front of the Konrad Adenauer House, the headquarters of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Berlin. The provocative installation serves as a stark reminder to the conservative party about maintaining its political firewall against far-right extremism.
Walter Lübcke was a CDU politician and district president of Kassel who was murdered in June 2019 by a far-right extremist. The 65-year-old politician had been a vocal advocate for refugee rights and had received death threats for his pro-immigration stance. His assassination shocked Germany and highlighted the growing threat of right-wing extremism in the country.
The statue installation represents the latest action by the Center for Political Beauty, known for its controversial and attention-grabbing political art interventions. The group has previously staged dramatic performances and installations to draw attention to various political issues, often targeting government policies and political parties through provocative artistic statements.
The timing of the installation appears deliberate, coming at a moment when the CDU faces increasing pressure regarding its political positioning toward the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The artwork serves as a visual reminder of the consequences when democratic parties fail to maintain clear boundaries against extremist movements, with Lübcke's murder standing as a tragic example of where political radicalization can lead.
The Center for Political Beauty's action aims to remind the CDU of its responsibility to uphold what Germans call the "Brandmauer" or firewall – the democratic consensus to exclude far-right parties from political cooperation and coalition building. This political principle has been a cornerstone of German democratic practice since World War II, designed to prevent the normalization of extremist ideologies.
