Friedrich Merz, leader of the German CDU, confidently defends his party's hardline migration policies amid protests accusing him of blurring lines with the far-right AfD. In a speech calling for a strong stance against antisemitism and violent crime, he reiterates CDU's commitment to remain independent of AfD, describing them as their primary opponent in the upcoming elections. Merz's remarks underline the party's strategy to appeal to centrist voters while countering growing far-right sentiment amid a highly contentious election climate.
We will not work with the Alternative fur Deutschland — not before [the election], not after — never, he said to a lengthy standing ovation from delegates.
It is our most important opponent in this election campaign. We want to make it small, we want to make it a footnote.
I want to know: where is the uprising of decent people in the face of a never-before-seen hatred of Israel... and an antisemitism that deeply shames us all.
Drumming home a law-and-order message in the last weeks of the campaign, Merz argued that mainstream parties had to offer a tougher response to violent crimes.
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