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🇬🇷 Greece /Elections & Politics

Merz says AfD victory shook Germany’s CDU ‘to its foundations’

From Kathimerini · () Greek

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

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out cooperation with the far-right AfD after it won nearly 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt.
  • The AfD won 39 of 83 seats, leaving it short of an outright majority but seeking support from individual conservative lawmakers.
  • Merz said the result had shaken the CDU and Germany’s party system, while the AfD urged CDU lawmakers to enable a conservative majority.

Friedrich Merz says the AfD’s surge to first place in Saxony-Anhalt has shaken his Christian Democratic Union “to its foundations.” The chancellor ruled out cooperation with the far-right party, even as the AfD called on CDU lawmakers to help it take power in the eastern German state.

The AfD won almost 44% of the vote but secured 39 of the state parliament’s 83 seats. It therefore lacks an outright majority and is now hoping to win over individual conservative lawmakers. If it succeeds, a far-right party would enter government at state level in postwar Germany for the first time.

This shakes our party to its foundations. We cannot simply continue as before, neither I nor the federal government.

· Friedrich MerzThe German chancellor described the impact of the AfD’s election victory on the CDU and his government.

The result puts renewed pressure on the traditional parties’ long-standing refusal to work with the AfD, a policy known as the “firewall.” The AfD calls the policy undemocratic. Its platform supports deporting migrants, ending German support for Ukraine and restoring relations with Moscow.

We have a strong constitution; we have all the tools to defend the constitution against a far-right extremist state government. But our party system is undergoing a tectonic shift.

· Friedrich MerzMerz warned that the election result had wider implications for Germany’s political system.

“This shakes our party to its foundations. We cannot simply continue as before, neither I nor the federal government,” Merz said, according to Bild. He added that Germany had a strong constitution and the tools to defend it against a far-right extremist state government, but warned that the party system was undergoing a “tectonic shift.”

AfD federal co-leader Tino Chrupalla urged CDU lawmakers to create a “centre-right conservative majority” in Saxony-Anhalt, saying that “party games should really belong to the past.” AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund said he would hold talks with several parliamentary groups. Merz faces further state elections in the coming weeks and next year, while hoping reforms and higher spending in some areas can revive growth in Europe’s largest economy.

Party games should really belong to the past.

· Tino ChrupallaThe AfD co-leader urged CDU lawmakers to support a conservative majority in Saxony-Anhalt.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathimerini in Greek. 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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