In a news broadcast – in which, in his opinion, gender should not be used – CDU leader Merz clearly positions himself on the AfD.
Berlin – The AfD in the polls, traffic light coalition and opposition perplexed. Chancellor Olaf Scholz blames the current multi-crises, while others see the reasons in the government's work itself. For example, Friedrich Merz. "If we had a government that worked well in terms of craftsmanship and politics, then the AfD would not be at 18 percent," Merz said on ZDF's "heute journal" on June 4.
He mentioned in particular the Greens in the government. "People in Germany are simply tired of this kind of paternalism. And they're venting about that now."
Merz: Gendering plays into the hands of the AfD
Merz had blamed the use of gender-neutral language for the strengthening of the AfD in the opinion polls. "With every gendered news broadcast, a few hundred more votes go to the AfD," he wrote on Saturday in the "MerzMail", his weekly email newsletter. Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) expressed a similar view. The German Journalists' Association criticized the statements as "sheer populism".
Polls: AfD on a par with the SPD
The conservative politician ruled out cooperation with the right-wing populists: "As long as I am party chairman of the CDU, there will be no cooperation with this party," Merz said – and about the AfD: "This party is xenophobic. This party is anti-Semitic. We have nothing to do with these people, and there will be no cooperation here – under the hand, above the hand, on the table, under the table with me and not us." In two recent polls, the AfD – which is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a right-wing extremist suspected case – is on a par with the SPD.
CDU leader Merz: "We don't use AfD speak"
Merz rejected the accusation that the Union used the AfD's choice of words when criticizing the government. "We don't use AfD-speak." He said he was not prepared to accept that the Union would immediately be brought close to the AfD with any criticism of the government. Sometimes, even in the ranks of the Union, exaggerations are made. However, the Union is clear on the matter, remains capable of talking the next day and is ready to make compromises with the government.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz criticizes the asylum policy of the traffic light coalition © Kay Nietfeld/düa
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Asylum policy: Merz sees problem with immigration
In the migration debate, Merz backed a proposal by Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) to establish a commission of federal, state and local governments for a new asylum policy. He is happy to make this suggestion his own, Merz said.
"But if, for example, the Greens permanently and insistently claim that we have no problem at all, that the federal government is not even prepared to talk about reducing immigration, let alone make decisions, then the problem will get bigger and with the bigger problem, the AfD will get bigger." (dpa/AFP/frs)