Merz lashes out at AfD remarks ahead of eastern German state election

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for a tougher response to the far-right Alternative for Germany after a senior party figure described the German state as “a lazy, antisocial bum that stinks of drugs.”

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We need to deal with this party more effectively.

The remark came from Martin Reichardt, the AfD’s leader in Saxony-Anhalt, during a congress of the party’s youth organization. Merz referred to it at a campaign event in Lower Saxony on Saturday, saying politicians needed to confront both the party’s issues and its choice of language.

“We need to deal with this party more effectively,” Merz said. “We need to address the problems before us. We also need to address our choice of words.” He said Reichardt’s statement showed “what these people think about our country” and added: “We will not allow our country to be talked down.”

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We need to address the problems before us. We also need to address our choice of words.

The comments came before Sunday’s election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD has a real chance of taking power in a German state for the first time. Polls put the party above 40% of the vote. The conservative CDU, which currently leads a three-party coalition in the state, ranks second but is far behind.

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What these people think about our country.

Merz and other senior politicians have warned against the AfD, which opposes immigration and the European Union, promotes what it calls traditional German values, and supports closer relations with Russia. The other parties refuse to work with it under the policy known as the “firewall.”

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We will not allow our country to be talked down.