Merz’s gamble: Germany’s centre-right leader splits voters by flirting with hardline AfD Would be chancellor Friederich Merz breaks post-war convention of no political deals with far right.
Since conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz signalled a taboo-breaking openness to AfD support for his hardline course on border policy, voters visiting Bochmann’s information stands in small towns such as Schkeuditz have had one issue at the front of their minds: immigration.
Weekly news magazine Der Spiegel headlined its latest cover story: “After the taboo breach: is Germany still governable?” A YouGov poll showed four out of five Germans worry about what Merz’s muddier stance on the AfD will mean for future coalition talks among the mainstream parties.
Merz’s dramatic ploy to court far-right support in parliament for his “uncompromising” migration policies has failed to lure back AfD voters, opinion surveys suggest, with only negligible movement in support.
Bernd Ullrich, 72, said he had long voted for the CDU (Christian Democrats), Merz’s party, after the Berlin Wall fell but turned to the AfD for its anti-immigrant stance.
