BERLIN Jan. 11 (DPA/EP) –
The candidate for chancellor of the German conservatives, Friedrich Merz, one of the big favorites in the polls in the next legislative elections in February, has firmly rejected any cooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an interview given to the public broadcaster ARD television.
“I repeat it here so that it is noted. There will be no cooperation while I am at the head of the CDU,” said Merz, president of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which with its Bavarian sister Christian Social Union (CSU) makes up the alliance. CDU/CSU.
The Christian Democrat added that the reasons are clear and obvious. “We will not cooperate with a party that is xenophobic, that is anti-Semitic, that has right-wing extremists in its ranks, that has criminals in its ranks, a party that flirts with Russia and that wants to leave NATO and the European Union.”
Germany’s national intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, monitors the AfD as a suspected far-right organization.
Merz’s reference to criminals could be directed at the party leader in the state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, a far-right arsonist well known in the country for his controversial comments. Höcke was convicted twice for knowingly using a banned Nazi slogan in his speeches.
Merz added about any way to cooperate with the AfD: “If we did it, we would sell the soul of the CDU.” When asked if that promise can be kept, Merz replied: “Yes, I will keep it. My fate as CDU president is tied to this answer.”
Friedrich Merz is one of the favorites to become head of government in the national elections on February 23, following the collapse of the tripartite coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.