"In public perception, this false narrative is taking hold: 'They could push everything through with the AfD if only they would tear down this firewall,' Merz said in the interview. Referring to remarks by AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, who has emphasized her readiness to cooperate with the CDU, Merz said: "The 'outstretched hand' repeatedly invoked by the AfD actually aims to destroy us, as they themselves say.""
"Merz also said that the decision by former CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2015 to allow almost 1 million Syrians to enter Germany to escape the civil war in their country had contributed to the AfD's rise. This was compounded by decisions taken after 2021 by the center-left coaltion of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, he said, which led to a doubling of the AfD's popularity ratings."
Friedrich Merz rejects calls to tear down the firewall between the CDU and the AfD and pledges to underscore differences more clearly. He warns that a false narrative suggests the CDU could pass policies with AfD support if the ban were lifted. Merz portrays the AfD's overtures as aimed at destroying the CDU and identifies the AfD as the main opponent in upcoming elections. He blames the 2015 decision to admit nearly one million Syrians and post-2021 policies for boosting AfD support, noting the party's strengthened position in several legislatures and in the Bundestag.
Read at www.dw.com
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