German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz reacted with indignant outrage on Friday when asked to rule out ever forming a future government with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Merz was pressed on the matter during debate on a hard-line migration bill that his centre-right CDU/CSU bloc is pushing.
Merz’s move to bring the bill to a vote has touched off a firestorm in German politics, as he is expected to rely on votes from the AfD to pass the measure through the lower house of Germany’s parliament.
Any sort of cooperation with the far right has long been viewed as a taboo in German politics, and the AfD is seen by many as an extremist party outside of the democratic mainstream.
Green parliamentary leader Felix Banaszak demanded that Merz rule out relying on AfD support to form a coalition or a minority government after the upcoming February 23 elections.
Merz reacted angrily to the question, which he called “superfluous,” and said his stance on the matter “has always been clear and it remains clear: that we will not allow this [AfD] parliamentary group to bring us into a majority or into a federal government.”
