Berlin’s mayor distances himself from party leader Merz after AfD statement

Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner has sharply distanced himself from the statements made by his party leader Friedrich Merz (both CDU) about possible cooperation with the AfD at the local level. “The AfD only knows opposition and division. Where should there be COLLABORATION? The CDU cannot, will not and will not work with a party whose business model is hatred, division and exclusion,” Wegner wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

In the ZDF summer interview on Sunday, Merz reaffirmed that the Union would not cooperate with the AfD. However, he now limited this to “legislative bodies” with elected representatives, for example at the European, federal or state level. If a district administrator in Thuringia and a mayor in Saxony-Anhalt were elected by the AfD, then those were democratic elections, said Merz. “We have to accept that. And of course the local parliaments have to look for ways to shape the city, the state and the district together.” However, what exactly he means by that remained unclear in the interview.

Chrupalla: “Now the first stones are falling out of the black-green firewall”

The Vice-President of the Bundestag, Yvonne Magwas, who is also a member of the CDU presidium, wrote on Twitter: “Whether local council or Bundestag, right-wing radicals remain right-wing radicals. For Christian Democrats, right-wing extremists are ALWAYS enemies!”

AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla also wrote on Twitter: “Now the first stones are falling from the black and green firewall. In the federal states and the federal government, we will tear down the wall together. The winners will be the citizens who regain prosperity, freedom and security through interest-driven politics.”

Merz had CDU as an “alternative for Germany with substance”

Green Party chairwoman Ricarda Lang also criticized Merz on ARD: “First he reduced this party to a better alternative for Germany and now he is building the firewall – which the Union itself has repeatedly invoked – a little bit.”

Merz had described the Union as an “alternative for Germany with substance” last week at the retreat of the CSU state group. He also received criticism for this. At the beginning of his tenure as party leader, he had promised “a firewall to the AfD”.