Frankfurt (Germany), 27 August (LaPresse) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in his capacity as chairman of the CDU, has ruled out any cooperation with the AfD, just a few days ahead of the regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt, scheduled for 6 September. “The differences between the CDU and the AfD are so fundamental that no compromises are possible,” Merz said in an interview with RTL. According to the Chancellor, the AfD poses a threat to Germany’s internal and external security and maintains close ties with Russia. Merz accused the party of “coming and going from the Russian embassy in Berlin” and of having very close ties with Moscow and President Vladimir Putin. For Merz, cooperation with the AfD is therefore impossible. “You cannot leave the European Union halfway; you cannot leave NATO halfway; just as you cannot destroy the CDU halfway,” stated Merz, who also pointed out that the AfD itself claims to want to “destroy the CDU” and radically change the German system, by leaving the euro, the Schengen Area and the single market. Merz said he wanted to win back voters who currently vote for the AfD and expressed his conviction that, following the election in Saxony-Anhalt, no CDU members would be willing to collaborate with the far-right party. The Chancellor, however, left open the question of how the future regional government would be formed, citing the precedents in Thuringia and Saxony, where the AfD emerged as the largest party but failed to form a government. Among the possibilities are also minority governments supported from outside.
Germany, Merz: ‘The AfD is too close to Russia and Putin; it will never form a government with the CDU’
Frankfurt (Germany), 27 August (LaPresse) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in his capacity as chairman of the CDU, has ruled out any cooperation with the AfD, just a few days ahead of the regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt, scheduled for 6 September. “The differences between the CDU and the AfD are so fundamental that no compromises are possible,” Merz said in an interview with RTL. According to the Chancellor, the AfD poses a threat to Germany’s internal and external security and maintains close ties with Russia. Merz accused the party of “coming and going from the Russian embassy in Berlin” and of having very close ties with Moscow and President Vladimir Putin. For Merz, cooperation with the AfD is therefore impossible. “You cannot leave the European Union halfway; you cannot leave NATO halfway; just as you cannot destroy the CDU halfway,” stated Merz, who also pointed out that the AfD itself claims to want to “destroy the CDU” and radically change the German system, by leaving the euro, the Schengen Area and the single market. Merz said he wanted to win back voters who currently vote for the AfD and expressed his conviction that, following the election in Saxony-Anhalt, no CDU members would be willing to collaborate with the far-right party. The Chancellor, however, left open the question of how the future regional government would be formed, citing the precedents in Thuringia and Saxony, where the AfD emerged as the largest party but failed to form a government. Among the possibilities are also minority governments supported from outside.