German opposition backpedals on willingness to work with far-right
Germany's conservative opposition leader Monday rowed back on comments that his party could be open to working with the resurgent far-right AfD at the local level after his remarks created a firestorm.
Friedrich Merz, head of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), stunned the political establishment late Sunday with what was seen as a softening of their firm line against cooperation with the anti-immigrant party.
If a mayor belonging to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is elected somewhere in the country then "it's natural that we have to look for ways to ensure that we can continue to work together in the city," Merz told public broadcaster ZDF.
His remarks caused particular concern as they came just as votes were being counted in a general election in Spain, where a tie-up between the right and the far right at the national level has been considered a possibility.
German politicians from across the spectrum - including within Merz's own camp - reacted with outrage, leading the CDU chairman to backpedal.
READ ALSO: German conservatives could work with far right at local level, says leader
"To clarify it once again, and I never said it differently: the CDU resolution is valid. There will be no CDU cooperation on the local level with the AfD," Merz tweeted.
However, fears lingered that Merz, as the leader of the top party in the polls, could in future be open to breaching a fundamental taboo in Germany's post-World War II politics.
MP Norbert Roettgen, who ran against Merz for the party leadership, warned Sunday that the AfD "knowingly admits and invites extremist forces into the party" and called it "unacceptable" for the CDU to work with it "on any level".
But AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla crowed that "the first stones in the firewall" between his party and the mainstream "have fallen", saying the "winners will be the citizens".
'Populist pandering'
Merz's comments came as the AfD has been enjoying a spectacular surge in opinion polls. It now ranks second nationally, ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD), and just behind Merz's conservatives.
READ ALL: Why are the far-right AfD doing so well in German polls?
The party notched up two historic victories in recent weeks, electing its first full-time mayor, in the small town of Raguhn-Jessnitz, and its first district administrator, in Sonneberg in the central state of Thuringia.
The far-right has profited from widespread dissatisfaction with the current government coalition, made up of the SPD, the ecologist Greens, and the pro-business Free Democrats, as well as from rising prices.
Created in 2013 as an anti-euro outfit, the AfD morphed into an anti-Islam, anti-immigration party and capitalised on the 2015-16 refugee influx under then chancellor Angela Merkel.
It stunned the political establishment when it took around 13 percent of votes in the 2017 general elections, catapulting nearly 100 lawmakers into the German parliament, before sliding to around 10 percent in the 2021 federal election.
At a party congress in 2018, the CDU formally ruled out "coalitions and similar forms of cooperation with the AfD". Merz renewed the pledge at the state level in December 2021 before becoming party leader.
READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Are far-right sentiments growing in eastern Germany?
"There will be a firewall to the AfD with me," he said, warning that any representative of a state chapter who tried to violate the principle would face being barred from the party.
But Merz, a longtime rival of Merkel, who has retired from politics, has flirted with hardline rhetoric, accusing Ukrainian refugees last year of "social welfare tourism" and saying last week his party could become an "Alternative for Germany with substance".
Political scientist Nils Diederich said Merz's zigzag within 24 hours showed he was "at a loss as to what strategy to use to put a stop to the AfD".
"Populist pandering by the CDU won't achieve anything because voters would rather vote for the original" and not a copy, he told AFP.
Comments
See Also
Friedrich Merz, head of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), stunned the political establishment late Sunday with what was seen as a softening of their firm line against cooperation with the anti-immigrant party.
If a mayor belonging to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is elected somewhere in the country then "it's natural that we have to look for ways to ensure that we can continue to work together in the city," Merz told public broadcaster ZDF.
His remarks caused particular concern as they came just as votes were being counted in a general election in Spain, where a tie-up between the right and the far right at the national level has been considered a possibility.
German politicians from across the spectrum - including within Merz's own camp - reacted with outrage, leading the CDU chairman to backpedal.
READ ALSO: German conservatives could work with far right at local level, says leader
"To clarify it once again, and I never said it differently: the CDU resolution is valid. There will be no CDU cooperation on the local level with the AfD," Merz tweeted.
However, fears lingered that Merz, as the leader of the top party in the polls, could in future be open to breaching a fundamental taboo in Germany's post-World War II politics.
MP Norbert Roettgen, who ran against Merz for the party leadership, warned Sunday that the AfD "knowingly admits and invites extremist forces into the party" and called it "unacceptable" for the CDU to work with it "on any level".
But AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla crowed that "the first stones in the firewall" between his party and the mainstream "have fallen", saying the "winners will be the citizens".
'Populist pandering'
Merz's comments came as the AfD has been enjoying a spectacular surge in opinion polls. It now ranks second nationally, ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD), and just behind Merz's conservatives.
READ ALL: Why are the far-right AfD doing so well in German polls?
The party notched up two historic victories in recent weeks, electing its first full-time mayor, in the small town of Raguhn-Jessnitz, and its first district administrator, in Sonneberg in the central state of Thuringia.
The far-right has profited from widespread dissatisfaction with the current government coalition, made up of the SPD, the ecologist Greens, and the pro-business Free Democrats, as well as from rising prices.
Created in 2013 as an anti-euro outfit, the AfD morphed into an anti-Islam, anti-immigration party and capitalised on the 2015-16 refugee influx under then chancellor Angela Merkel.
It stunned the political establishment when it took around 13 percent of votes in the 2017 general elections, catapulting nearly 100 lawmakers into the German parliament, before sliding to around 10 percent in the 2021 federal election.
At a party congress in 2018, the CDU formally ruled out "coalitions and similar forms of cooperation with the AfD". Merz renewed the pledge at the state level in December 2021 before becoming party leader.
READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Are far-right sentiments growing in eastern Germany?
"There will be a firewall to the AfD with me," he said, warning that any representative of a state chapter who tried to violate the principle would face being barred from the party.
But Merz, a longtime rival of Merkel, who has retired from politics, has flirted with hardline rhetoric, accusing Ukrainian refugees last year of "social welfare tourism" and saying last week his party could become an "Alternative for Germany with substance".
Political scientist Nils Diederich said Merz's zigzag within 24 hours showed he was "at a loss as to what strategy to use to put a stop to the AfD".
"Populist pandering by the CDU won't achieve anything because voters would rather vote for the original" and not a copy, he told AFP.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.