“This party has declared its intention to destroy the CDU,” Merz, the chancellor and leader of the CDU, said on Monday. — We accept this challenge. We will now explain very clearly what the AfD's position is on program issues. We will distance ourselves from them very clearly and clearly. And above all, it is important that we counter it with effective government work.
Merz's Christian Democrats have long been trying to find an appropriate approach to the Alternative for Germany, whose support has grown since the February elections. Even before Germans went to the polls, Merz tried to push a controversial immigration bill through the German parliament supported by the far right. This move was met with sharp criticism, including within the ranks of his own party.
At that time, Merz defended his approach, but committed to maintaining the so-called a firewall that was put in place to prevent cooperation with the far right. However, as the AfD gains popularity, members of Merza's Christian Democratic party – especially in eastern states – argue that the firewall is no longer sufficient to stop the rise of the far right.
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The AfD is currently the largest opposition force in the Bundestag. The far-right party has been successful, presenting itself as the only truly anti-immigration force in Germany. He combines this with anti-war rhetoric that is skeptical of Germany's support for Ukraine and Berlin's efforts to transform the Bundeswehr into “the strongest army in Europe.”
This is how the CDU will try to improve its image among voters in Germany
Merz's comments culminate a discussion that took place last week in his center-right party about the attitude towards the AfD ahead of next year's elections in several federal states — including in two eastern states, where AfD has about 40 percent in polls and is significantly ahead of all other parties.
— We want and can win all these elections and we can remain the most powerful political force in Germany Merz said after a seven-and-a-half-hour meeting with the party board on Sunday that focused on developing a strategy for the upcoming election year.
CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann presented a three-pronged approach to the political fight against AfD. First, the CDU's presence is to be strengthened in two eastern German states where the AfD is leading in the polls, in order to counter the party's dominance at the local level. Secondly, they are to be appointed expert commissions that will develop ideas for shaping the political agendawhich in turn is intended to achieve the third goal, namely to create a positive image of the CDU as a party that seeks solutions, unlike the AfD, which focuses on problems.
“AfD has been questioning fundamental decisions since 1949.”
Merz's plan earlier this year to accept AfD support for the immigration bill was part of a pre-election effort to win back voters who had defected to the far right. This tactic was met with sharp criticism from Merz's left-wing rivalswho accused him of breaking the post-war quarantine of the far right in Germany and forgetting the lessons of the country's history.
Alice Weidel, co-chair of the AfD, in the Bundestag. Berlin, September 24, 2025EPA/CLEMENS BILAN / PAP
Already as chancellor Merz pointed to the need to clearly distinguish his Christian Democrat party from the AfD. — Public opinion is becoming more and more convinced that we could reach a great agreement together if we wanted to. No, ladies and gentlemen, this is not the case, he emphasized on Monday.
— AfD questions fundamental decisions made by the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949. It questions all the fundamental decisions that we, too, have helped shape. And that is why the hand that the AfD is stretching out is in fact the hand that wants to destroy us. – emphasized the Chancellor. But he added: 'Neither the Secretary-General nor I used the words 'firewall'. This is not the way we speak.
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