Overview

• Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the AfD seeks to destroy the CDU and declared it the party’s principal adversary, closing the door to alliances.
• CSU leader Markus Söder backed the stance, calling the AfD authoritarian and loyal to Moscow and warning it aims to displace the conservatives.
• Alice Weidel condemned Merz’s offensive and his coalition course with the SPD, arguing his approach harms the CDU and the economy.
• Polling shows the AfD competitive nationwide and leading in parts of eastern Germany, with five state elections due in 2026 including Saxony‑Anhalt and Mecklenburg‑Western Pomerania.
• Merz’s position faces scrutiny after earlier accepting AfD votes on a migration motion and tightening border controls and citizenship rules, and he defended recent remarks about Germany’s urban landscape.