Overview
- Jens Spahn said there will be no talks or cooperation with the AfD, stressing that the firewall stands in practice despite his dislike of the term.
- He cast the CDU as the bulwark against the AfD, pointing to Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia as states where the party blocks far-right gains.
- Spahn described the AfD as harboring antisemites and right-wing extremists and said he has never held talks with AfD lawmakers.
- He projected a coalition agreement on the pension package by year-end and cited Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s idea of an accompanying resolution as a possible building block.
- The dispute centers on extending the pension level at 48 percent to 2031 and a cabinet draft that keeps the level about one point higher after 2031, with the SPD backing the draft and the Junge Union warning of burdens on younger generations, while Spahn called for speeding up the pension commission to deliver proposals by mid‑next year.