As Germany readies itself for five separate state elections early next year, chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right Christian Democrats faces a dilemma over how to handle the surging influence and popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
In the run-up to the CDU party convention last weekend, voices within the party calling for collaboration with the extremists gained traction — raising concerns over the party’s shift to the right and normalisation of extremism in Germany.
Merz himself rejected such a scenario at a press conference on Monday (20 October).
“We will distance ourselves very clearly and distinctly from them [the AfD]. And above all, it is important that we counter this with successful government work,” he told reporters, calling the AfD the “main opponent” of the CDU and stated that “this party [the AfD] has declared its intention to destroy the CDU.”
And yet, leading figures from the CDU in Germany’s former communist east, such as in the state of Thüringen (where the AfD came top in elections in 2024), have called for exploring collaboration with the far-right. In German politics, the ‘firewall’ refers to an unofficial agreement among mainstream parties to refuse to form coalitions or cooperate with the far-right AfD.
However, Rödder, a German historian at the University of Mainz, said it would be worth attempting dialogue if “the AfD respects red lines” and “clearly distances itself from far-right extremist positions and figures.”
The CDU agreed internally not to collaborate with the AfD as well as the leftwing party Die Linke in 2018. The AfD leads polls in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sachsen-Anhalt, with 38 and 40 percent respectively.
The CDU faced a backlash in January when it voted alongside the AfD on migration legislation, sparking nationwide protests. Critics accuse Merz of embracing far-right positions and eroding the firewall.
Last week, chancellor Friedrich Merz sparked controversy by suggesting German cities’ appearance (“Stadtbild”) had deteriorated due to migration.
He doubled down on this narrative this week, telling journalists on Monday to ask their daughters about safety concerns.
CDU has shifted dramatically from Angela Merkel’s 2015 “Wir Schaffen Das” approach to migration. Under Merz’s leadership, the CDU narratives involve “an adoption of the problem definitions and their implied solutions from the far right,” he said. The controversy highlights a broader dilemma for centre-right parties across Europe.