Overview
- Michael Kretschmer, who said Wednesday that "we must talk to anyone who will talk," publicly questioned the CDU’s 2018 ban on cooperation with the AfD and the Left and urged more pragmatic contact across the chamber.
- His remarks prompted sharp criticism from Greens, SPD-aligned figures and youth groups who said engaging the AfD risks normalizing a party the Verfassungsschutz treats as extremist in some states.
- Federal CDU leader Friedrich Merz responded by reaffirming the party’s Unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss and rejecting formal cooperation with the AfD or the Left to preserve party unity and ongoing federal reforms.
- Kretschmer defended his position by pointing to a cross-party Saxony 'consultation mechanism' that he says includes all factions except the AfD, which has refused to participate in those talks.
- Polls showing the AfD ahead in parts of eastern Germany and small parties like the BSW polling near the threshold mean post-election arithmetic could make minor parties kingmakers and force hard coalition choices.