BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Bundestag on Wednesday that the Alternative for Germany party supports Russia against German interests and that its anti-migration “remigration” agenda is “nothing other than ethnic cleansing based on skin color and origin,” Deutsche Welle reported.
The remarks follow the AfD’s 43.8 percent win in Saxony-Anhalt over the weekend, a result that shook Merz’s Christian Democrats. Merz has ruled out working with the far-right party.
Defending migration’s role in the economy during a parliamentary face-off with AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, Merz said: “If things were to happen the way the AfD wants, the skilled trades in Germany could no longer function, not a single care home would be able to operate, not a single hospital would be able to operate, and not a single restaurant could be run.”
Political fallout from Saxony-Anhalt continues to dominate German politics as mainstream parties debate how to contain the AfD without cooperating with it.
Sources: Reuters, DW, The Guardian
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