German Chancellor Merz Clashes With AfD Following Far Right State Election Victory
18 sources across 11 countries
Who reported this
- Der Spiegel
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung
- Deutsche Welle
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- The Guardian
- BBC News
- Reuters
- ANSA
- Corriere della Sera
- Daily Maverick
- Business Day
- elDiarioAR
- Politico Europe
- CNN Brasil
- Haaretz
- NRC
- Notes from Poland
- El Pais
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Alice Weidel engaged in a stormy debate in the Bundestag following the AfD's victory in the eastern state of Saxony Anhalt. The AfD won approximately 44 percent of the vote, though it fell three seats short of an absolute majority. During the session, Merz called the AfD a destructive force and stated that the party's remigration policy is a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin color. He argued that such policies would devastate the German economy by creating severe labor shortages in hospitals, nursing homes, and skilled trades. In response, Weidel accused Merz's coalition government of driving Germany toward bankruptcy and claimed that mass migration has led to increased violence. Merz also accused the AfD of favoring Russian interests over those of Germany, specifically regarding the war in Ukraine. The AfD has denied these claims, stating that their policies are legal and focused on the consistent deportation of foreigners required to leave the country. US President Donald Trump praised the AfD's success, using the phrase Make Germany Great Again. Following these comments, the German government postponed a planned phone call between Merz and Trump that was intended to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In Saxony Anhalt, the AfD's path to power remains uncertain due to the Brandmauer, a policy where mainstream parties refuse to form coalitions with the far right. While some AfD members have suggested working with the left wing populist BSW, other mainstream parties have explicitly rejected coalition talks. Meanwhile, some within the center right CDU have begun discussing the possibility of banning the AfD, a party already classified as right wing extremist by domestic intelligence in several regions.
How each side framed it
- Left
- Centered on Donald Trump's endorsement of the far right and the threat of antisemitism.
- Centre-left
- Highlighted the danger of the AfD's remigration plans and the fragility of Merz's leadership.
- Centre
- Focused on the parliamentary clash and the diplomatic tension between Merz and Trump.
- Centre-right
- Emphasized the strategic debate over whether to ban the party and the AfD's challenge to the established order.
Sources
- Centre ANSA: Merz attacks Afd, 'your remigration is ethnic cleansing'
- Centre BBC News: Germany's Merz attacks AfD in stormy debate after far-right election win
- Centre-right Business Day: Germany’s Merz rebukes AfD after party’s election win
- Centre-right Business Day: German far-right surges as Trump cites immigration woes
- Centre CNN Brasil: German Chancellor accuses AfD of favoring Russian interests against the country
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: AfD, ban the far right? The Cdu is considering it. Wüst, leader in pectore: "We are studying the matter"
- Centre-left Daily Maverick: Holocaust survivor ‘appalled’ by prospect of far-right in power in German state
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Bundestag: Friedrich Merz makes himself small, the AfD brims with power
- Centre Deutsche Welle: Germany news: Merz, Weidel face off after AfD state win
- Centre-left El Pais: Merz accuses the far right of wanting to carry out "an ethnic cleansing" in Germany
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: Election in Saxony-Anhalt: Holocaust survivor "horrified" by success of the AfD
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: General debate in the Bundestag: Speech duel between Merz and Weidel
- Left Haaretz: Trump congratulates far-right AfD on landslide win: 'Make Germany Great Again!'
- Centre NRC: AfD mainly managed to mobilize non voters in Saxony Anhalt
- Centre Notes from Poland: “We remember where Germany in the hands of a far-right, pro-Russian party can lead,” says Polish FM
- Centre Politico Europe: German far right’s ‘remigration’ plans amount to ethnic cleansing, says Merz
- Centre Reuters: Germany's Merz accuses far-right AfD of calling for 'ethnic cleansing' - Reuters
- Centre Reuters: Holocaust survivor 'appalled' by prospect of far-right in power in German state - Reuters
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: News blog on federal politics: "You are and you remain, Ms. Weidel, a destructive force"
- Centre-left The Guardian: ‘I fear the price could be high’: Inside the German state where the far-right surged
- Centre-left The Guardian: Merz accuses AfD of ‘ethnic cleansing’ policy and cancels call with Trump
- Centre-left elDiarioAR: Saxony Anhalt, the territory that AfD wants to turn into the "laboratory" of its mass deportation plan for Germany
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.