Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz made clear in an interview with the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung and Magdeburger Volksstimme that his party will not work out a government program with either the AfD or the Left after Sunday’s election. “Both the AfD and the Left party have such fundamental differences with the Union that cooperation is ruled out,” Merz is quoted as saying.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD with its top candidate Ulrich Siegmund leads the polls clearly ahead of the CDU of Sven Schulze. For the first time, the AfD could achieve an absolute majority in a federal state and thus provide the Minister-President. Recently, however, polls have indicated difficult majority conditions.
Asked about a possible minority government with changing majorities, Merz referred to the models in Thuringia and Saxony, but stressed: “It must also be clear that there are limits.” A government participation of the AfD or the Left is ruled out. A federal party congress resolution of the CDU from 2018 rejects “coalitions and similar forms of cooperation” with both parties.
Merz also criticized Siegmund’s election campaign: “Mr. Siegmund is deceiving people. He glorifies the past that he himself did not experience.” He pointed out that unemployment in Saxony-Anhalt was 20 percent in 2000, but today it is only eight percent. Asked whether he fears for his office, Merz answered: “No. There are attempts from outside to drive a wedge into the Union.”
Source: www.zeit.de
