Overview

• Speaking on ARD’s Maischberger, the CDU vice chair argued that hiding behind a firewall will not move Germany forward.
• He called for addressing concrete drivers of AfD support, citing debureaucratization and a reset of the Energiewende as examples.
• Kretschmer emphasized that the AfD is not a normal party and pointed to domestic intelligence findings that classify parts of it as extremist, including in Saxony.
• He highlighted the party’s momentum, noting a tripling of results in North Rhine-Westphalia and polling near 23% in Rhineland-Palatinate.
• His remarks land as former figures Peter Tauber and Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg urge relaxing the firewall, a move other Union leaders categorically reject.