Merz Rules Out Cooperation With AfD or Left Party After Saxony-Anhalt Election
Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Friedrich Merz said the CDU would not pursue a joint governing program with either the AfD or the Left Party in Saxony-Anhalt.
- Merz cited fundamental differences between both parties and the CDU.
- Polls put the AfD ahead of the CDU before Sunday’s election, although recent projections suggested that forming a majority could be difficult.
Friedrich Merz has drawn a firm line before Sunday’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt, ruling out a joint governing program with both the AfD and the Left Party.
“There are such fundamental differences between the AfD, the Left Party and the Union that cooperation is ruled out,” Merz told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung and the Magdeburger Volksstimme. The CDU leader and German chancellor said neither party shared enough common ground with his conservatives.
The stance comes as the AfD, led by top candidate Ulrich Siegmund, stands clearly ahead of the CDU of Saxony-Anhalt Minister-President Sven Schulze in current polls. The AfD could potentially win an absolute majority in a German state for the first time, which would give it a chance to claim the minister-president’s post.
More recent polling, however, has pointed toward difficult majority conditions. The election will determine the composition of the new state parliament, while Merz’s rejection of cooperation with either rival limits the coalition options available to the CDU.
There are such fundamental differences between the AfD, the Left Party and the Union that cooperation is ruled out.
About this summary
Originally published by Die Zeit 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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