In an interview with the German broadcaster ARD in August 2023, Friedrich Merz, the conservative leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), clarified that the CDU has a strict policy of not collaborating with the extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in parliament or local councils. He emphasised that this policy also applies at the municipal level. Since then, Merz has ruled out any cooperation with the AfD multiple times. For example, in November 2024, he pledged that no measures would be passed with the AfD’s support before the federal election in February.
However, as the 25 February election approached, Merz proposed a nonbinding motion in parliament to call for Germany to increase the number of migrants turned back at its borders. This motion secured AfD’s support. This change in attitude toward a party that German courts identify as right-extremist provoked strong reactions among the democratic parties in the Bundestag and within society.
Several leading CDU figures also responded negatively to Merz’s perceived new “friendships.” Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised Merz for pushing for tougher migration rules with the backing of the far-right AfD party, declaring his actions “wrong.”
On 2 February, tens of thousands of people protested across Germany, including in cities like Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, and Leipzig, against Merz’s proposals that required support from the AfD. Protesters argued that such actions violated a taboo in post-Nazi Germany on dealing with the far-right.
Merz remains determined to show his party’s commitment to a tougher stance on migration. However, he rejects the criticism, claiming his position has not changed. In response to the backlash, he stated on 3 February that the AfD is his “most important opponent” and declared that his party will “never” work with them.
Merz pointed out that the centre-left governing parties have been unwilling to approve changes to migration rules. He described the joint votes with the AfD in the Bundestag as an exception. When asked if he would seek the AfD’s votes again after the election, Merz stated in an interview with ntv: “I do not benefit from votes with the AfD. As far as anyone can tell, a situation like this will not arise again.”
Speaking after the CDU party conference in Berlin, Merz categorically excluded any participation of the AfD in the government. Other CDU leaders, including General Secretary Carsten Linnemann and CSU leader Markus Söder, echoed this sentiment. Merz assured the delegates, “We will never work with the party that calls itself the Alternative for Germany.” This applies both before and after the election.
“This party stands against everything our party and our country have built up in the best years and decades. It stands against our Western orientation, against the euro, and NATO. There is no cooperation, tolerance, or minority government,” he highlighted.
Despite these statements, Merz’s recent actions have led democratic parties in Germany to question their trust in Merz’s future movements. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has suggested that Merz can no longer be trusted not to form a government with the AfD, a claim Merz has vehemently denied.
