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🇦🇹 Austria /Elections & Politics

Armin Laschet: “Being friends with Kickl does not make the AfD more likable”

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Armin Laschet said the CDU's strategy of isolating the AfD has failed if the goal was to reduce its support, but insisted the party will not form a coalition or cooperate with it.
  • He warned that an AfD majority in a German state would give the party access to the police, judiciary and media, and said that outcome must not be accepted for tactical reasons.
  • Laschet argued that the CDU should resist moving either right or left, preserve its principles and European orientation, and seek workable governing arrangements after the election.

Armin Laschet rejects the idea that the CDU should hope for an absolute AfD majority simply because it might make governing easier. “If such a party has a majority in a federal state, it has access to the police, judiciary and media. That must not be accepted,” he said.

Being friends with Mr. Kickl does not make the AfD more likable.

· Armin LaschetHeadline quote criticizing the AfD's association with Austrian politician Herbert Kickl.

The AfD is polling at around 40 percent before Sunday's state election in Saxony-Anhalt, with the CDU well behind. Laschet said the strategy commonly known as the firewall has failed if it means that constant discussion of the barrier would drive down AfD support. But he argued that the CDU has no formal firewall resolution. Instead, it has a party resolution declaring the AfD incompatible with cooperation.

“That means: We will not form a coalition or cooperate with them,” Laschet said. The position would remain regardless of the AfD's vote share, he added, because the CDU fundamentally believes the party must not assume governmental responsibility, especially in a state where it is officially classified as far-right extremist.

That means: We will not form a coalition or cooperate with them.

· Armin LaschetOn the CDU's incompatibility resolution concerning the AfD.

Laschet said he was not convinced the AfD could secure an outright majority. The more immediate challenge, he said, would be keeping Saxony-Anhalt governable after the election. That could prove more complicated than it is today because the CDU also rules out cooperation with the Left party.

If such a party has a majority in a federal state, it has access to the police, judiciary and media. That must not be accepted.

· Armin LaschetOn why the CDU should not strategically welcome an AfD majority.

He rejected the suggestion that these exclusions amounted to political blinders. “These are principles, not blinders,” he said, warning that abandoning them would not benefit the CDU. Laschet suggested that Germany may need governing models involving forms of cooperation without bringing the Left into government. He also urged the CDU to resist opening toward either the right or the left, hold to its own politics and European orientation, and win voters back through effective policy.

These are principles, not blinders.

· Armin LaschetResponding to criticism that the CDU excludes cooperation with both the AfD and the Left party.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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