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🇵🇱 Poland /Elections & Politics

Friedrich Merz Warns CDU: AfD Wants to Destroy Us Completely

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

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

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Chancellor Friedrich Merz told CDU leaders that the party had suffered a dramatic defeat in Saxony-Anhalt and faced a major upheaval in Germany’s party system.
  • Merz said the AfD’s goal was the complete destruction of the CDU and again ruled out cooperation with the far-right party.
  • The AfD won 43.8% of the vote but lacks a parliamentary majority and may seek support from individual lawmakers to form its first state government.

Friedrich Merz told a meeting of the CDU leadership that Germany’s party system had suffered a “tectonic shock” after the election in Saxony-Anhalt. The chancellor said the result pointed to the prospect of a radically right-wing state government and warned that the CDU could not simply move on.

According to Bild, Merz said the AfD’s objective was the “complete destruction of the CDU.” He again ruled out any cooperation with Alternative for Germany, which won the election on September 6 with 43.8% of the vote.

We are facing a tectonic shock to our party system.

· Friedrich MerzMerz described the election result during a CDU leadership meeting.

Merz acknowledged that the CDU had “dramatically lost” the election. He also criticized his own government, saying it had failed to establish an emotional connection with voters. The result, he said, had shaken the CDU “to its foundations.”

The complete destruction of the CDU.

· Friedrich MerzMerz described what he said was the AfD’s objective.

The chancellor called for unity within the party and said its leaders needed to discuss problems openly. He also warned that public statements aimed against the CDU harmed the party.

The AfD does not hold a majority of seats in the Saxony-Anhalt parliament. It is expected to seek support from individual lawmakers from other parties as it attempts to form a government. If successful, it would govern a German state for the first time. German media have described the election as a turning point for democracy, a political earthquake and a final warning to Merz.

We will only manage this if we speak openly about the problems within the leadership.

· Friedrich MerzMerz called for unity and internal discussion after the defeat.
About this summary

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. 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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