Merz's formula for combating the far right

BerlinAhead of the regional elections in March, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a conservative, is searching for the best way to combat the far right, which he has long considered a "tough rival" and probably his party's "biggest political rival." The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has categorically rejected any cooperation between his party and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the main opposition party, although some conservative voices have raised the possibility in recent months of opening up to some form of cooperation with the far right.

Merz wants to maintain the "firewall" or "cordon sanitaire" around the AfDThat is, to isolate them and prevent them from coming to power. "I will not cooperate with this party under any circumstances," he asserted on a recent program on the public television network ARD. But the truth is that the Chancellor received much criticism during the campaign for the general elections last February for flirting with the far right on immigration issues. Regional elections will be held in Germany in 2026 in Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Merz is already searching for the best strategy to defeat the far-right at the polls and ensure his party wins the most votes in these five federal states. But he faces a difficult task, especially in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt, two eastern German states where the far right is already leading in the polls. "This party has grown so much because we haven't been good enough," Merz acknowledged this, referring both to the conservatives of the CDU/CSU, his own party, and to the Social Democrats, with whom he has governed in coalition since last May.

Merz distances himself from the AfD

How can the CDU win the next elections? Merz and his party leadership are asking themselves. "By resolving problems together with the SPD in the political center," and thus drawing the electoral base away from the far right, the Chancellor declared. "I will do everything possible to prevent this party from coming to power in Germany," Merz pledged, prepared to combat the far right with all democratic means at his disposal. Even if the far right were to obtain 40% of the votes in the Bundestag, 60% of the members of parliament would still be on the other side, he reminded everyone.

Coalitions with extremists are not the solution, according to the Chancellor, who is convinced that the conservative party and the AfD have nothing in common. According to Merz, the conservatives and the far right are separated by "fundamental political issues and convictions." Merz does not want to ally himself with an ultra-right-wing party that proposes "leaving the European Union and NATO, [they are] friends of Russia, [and defend] the worst kind of nationalism... Not with me!" he stated categorically.

CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann has warned Germans not to buy into the far-right's rhetoric. "It's becoming increasingly clear that the AfD wants a different country. It's unwilling to seek solutions. It thrives on problems. It wants to divide and marginalize," the Secretary General stated.

The CDU's new strategy involves countering the AfD's "pessimistic rhetoric" with a more positive image of Germany. "The outstretched hand that the AfD offers us time and again is, in reality, a hand that wants to destroy us," the Chancellor warned his party members a few weeks ago.

AfD leader Alice Weidel recently emphasized on social media that there will be no change in immigration policy under Merz. "Only the AfD represents a real change of course in immigration policy!" the far-right politician declared after the Chancellor told a citizens' debate that Germany needs immigrants willing to work and integrate.

Polls favor the far right

If federal elections were held in Germany this Sunday, the AfD would be the most voted party with 26% of the vote, two points ahead of Merz's party, with 24% support, according to a Forsa poll for the RTL and NTV networks. The SPD would come in third place with 14% of the vote, the Greens would obtain 12%, and the Left Party (Die Linke) would get 11%. The far right has managed to gain more than six percentage points in the polls since the federal elections last February. The CDU/CSU, winner of those elections, has lost more than four points in the same period.