German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had harsh words for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) during the general debate in the Bundestag on Wednesday, calling the party "a destructive force" and sharply criticising its policies.
On the same day he cancelled a planned phone call with US President Donald Trump, hours after Trump celebrated the the far-right party's landslide victory in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday.
Both moves appear to be a significant change of tone for Merz, who has been accused by critics on the left of normalising far-right policies on immigration. He has also so far strived to maintain a friendly relationship with Trump.
Coming three days after the AfD scored a crushing election victory over Merz's centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), it seems that the chancellor may be trying to distance himself and his party from the far-right and Trump.
What Merz said in the Bundestag
Members of Germany's federal parliament met for a general debate on Wednesday morning, which was the first time that AfD co-leader Alice Weidel and Merz met face to face since the ground-breaking election in Saxony-Anhalt.
Speaking directly after Weidel, who opened the debate, Merz took aim at the AfD's demand for mass deportations.
"The word 'remigration' is nothing other than a synonym for ethnic cleansing," Merz said about the AfD's flagship policy.
"Remigration is nothing other than ethnic cleansing by skin colour and origin," he added to howls of protest from AfD deputies in the Bundestag.
This came in direct contrast to comments from Weidel, who had led with some of her party's classic anti-immigration points. She had said that Germans were dealing with "daily consequences of mass migration," such as "run down and threatening cityscapes".
Hitting back, Merz said the AfD's immigration policy would massively impact the labour market: "Not a single care home could work operate, not a single hospital, not a single restaurant."
READ ALSO: Some migrants ready to pack bags fearing far-right win in east German state
Merz also accused the Moscow-friendly AfD of contributing to what he said were Russian efforts to "destabilise" Germany, following a foiled drone attack at Leipzig airport last month Berlin blamed on Russia.
"There has been nothing from you, Mrs Weidel, on what happened on August 4th at Leipzig airport," he said. "You are part of the problem we have here in Germany."
While Merz has been critical of the AfD in the past, even calling it a threat to democracy, his comments on Wednesday were striking in their contrast to some of his own statements in the past.
Merz had previously faced blowback for appearing to mirror some of the AfD's tough stances on immigration: he had even been accused by some of breaching the firewall when he passed a motion to tighten immigration rules with AfD support in January 2025.
In his campaign to be elected German chancellor he had promised to bring a tough immigration policy to stall the rise of the AfD. Since then Merz's government has maintained strict border controls and scrapped the fast-track path to German citizenship for exceptionally integrated immigrations.
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Recent polls, and the Saxony-Anhalt election in particular, show that Merz's efforts to woo AfD voters with tough immigration policies have not worked.
Trump on hold
On the same day it was announced that Merz cancelled a planned phone call with Trump.
A spokesman for Merz declined to give a reason for the cancellation, but noted in response to questions from journalists that it was not due to scheduling conflicts.
This came just hours after Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, hailed the "really big night" for the AfD.
"They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible immigration rules and regulations which have hurt Germany so badly," Trump wrote on Tuesday night Washington time.
Merz's spokesman did not directly respond to Trump's comments, but noted that the chancellor had frequently objected to "interfering in or commenting on the domestic political situation, particularly regarding elections".
A new date for a phone call between the two leaders had not yet been set, the spokesman added.
Despite disputes over tariffs, the Iran war and other issues, Merz has so far made a point to try and stay on Trump's good side.
But Trump is enormously unpopular in Europe. It could be that Merz sees a chance to improve his own favourability with German voters by distancing himself from the AfD's biggest supporter in the US.
The AfD is known to have close connections to Trump and top figures within his MAGA movement.
Co-leader Alice Weidel called Trump a role model in view of his return to the White House, and AfD representatives travelled to Washington for his inauguration.
READ ALSO: 'Like a MAGA campaign' - Why is the AfD so popular in Saxony-Anhalt?
With reporting by AFP.
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