“Shame for Germany”: CDU leader Merz warns of a possible AfD government in Apolda

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CDU leader Merz in Apolda: The AfD “stands for the decline of Germany”

Photo: Martin Schutt/dpa

CDU leader Friedrich Merz has warned of the AfD's possible government responsibility after the state elections in Thuringia. "It would be a shame for Thuringia, but above all it would be a shame for Germany," he said at the CDU Thuringia's Political Ash Wednesday in Apolda. »This is a party that does not represent an alternative for Germany. This party stands for the decline of Germany.

The CDU corrected its strategy in dealing with the AfD over the turn of the year, Merz continued. "Until then, many of us were of the opinion that by ignoring and talking down things, the problem would eventually disappear." At the latest, the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the way the AfD dealt with them would have changed this picture.

Merz: FDP and SPD should support CDU in Thuringia against AfD

For the upcoming state elections on September 1st, Merz made it clear that he hoped for support from other parties. The election will come down to a duel between AfD parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke and CDU state leader Mario Voigt, said Merz. He invites all parties in Thuringia to clearly stand on the side of the democratic parties. This is especially true for those who have no chance of playing a role in future state politics. In particular he means the FDP, but this could also apply to the SPD.

The AfD state associations in Saxony and Thuringia are classified and monitored by the constitutional protection offices there as definitely right-wing extremists; the AfD in Brandenburg is a suspected case. New state parliaments will be elected in all three federal states in the fall. The AfD came first in recent surveys in these countries, sometimes clearly. The CDU recently came a long way behind in second place in Thuringian surveys.

Merz remains open to a coalition with the Greens

In Apolda, Merz also defended his openness to a coalition with the Greens. "We will do a damn thing to close off all options and thereby take away any room for maneuver," he said. In Hesse, Prime Minister Boris Rhein was only able to get major concessions from the SPD because he had two partners to negotiate with.

“We have to become so strong in the next federal election that we cannot govern without us or against us,” he continued. Then three options remained. He prefers the FDP. If the FDP was not there, then the SPD and the Greens would still remain, he explained to the members of the Thuringian regional association to boos. It must be clear that, given the current situation, all parties in the “broad political center” must be able to cooperate with one another and, under certain circumstances, also be capable of forming a coalition.

Merz had already made it clear that he was not ruling out a coalition with the Greens. CSU boss Markus Söder made a significantly different statement on Wednesday. “We as the CSU don’t want any Greens in the next federal government, no black-green,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister at the Political Ash Wednesday in Passau. The Greens are not capable of governing - neither in Bavaria nor in the federal government.

aeh/dpa