German Conservatives Reject To Cooperate With the Far-Right for Coalition Government
Chairman of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz reacts during the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) election event in Berlin, Germany, 23 February 2025. Photo: EFE/EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE
February 23, 2025 Hour: 5:04 pm
Friedrich Merz, candidate for chancellor of the conservative bloc that has won this Sunday’s legislative elections in Germany, today reiterated his unequivocal rejection of any kind of cooperation with the ultra-rightist Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has remained as a second force and offered to be part of the future Government.
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“We have divergent views on foreign policy, security, and regarding NATO. They can extend their hand to us as much as they want, but we will not fall into a wrong policy,” Merz stated during a public television round with all the candidates.
“I am not going to question the legacy of 75 years of the Christian Democratic Union just for a self-proclaimed Alternative for Germany. You want the opposite of what we want,” he emphasized after far-right candidate Alice Weidel repeated her offer to form a coalition.
“It is clear that citizens want political change and want a black-blue coalition,” Weidel said, referring to the colors of both parties.
Weidel then attacked Merz for his intention to form a coalition with the social democrats of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz and possibly also with the Greens if seats are not met.
“The Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union must explain to their voters how they intend to fulfill their promises if they form a government with the left,” she stated and noted that, on the contrary, if a pact with the far-right materializes, they would hardly have to make concessions because the conservatives’ program is “copied” from theirs.
Merz, whose party, according to projections, has fallen below what polls anticipated, acknowledged that it is currently impossible to predict the composition of the new government.
“I will form a government that represents the entire population and I will strive to form a government that resolves the problems of this country. We do not know how this government can be formed. It is no secret that we would prefer one partner instead of two, but the citizens have decided and we have to accept it,” he stated.
According to projections from public television, the conservative block will generate between 28.4% and 28.6% of the votes, while the far-right will achieve 20.4% and Scholz’s social democrats between 16.3% and 16.4%, with the Greens in fourth place between 12.2% and 12.3%.
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: EFE