Chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken out against what he termed political “extremism” in Germany following significant losses in a local election to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
“This is a task for our society as a whole, and it is one I intend to play my part in,” he stated on Wednesday at an event in Berlin.
Merz observed that “extremism” was forcefully entering the country’s parliaments, a day after a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was elected president of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt, and the Left Party secured a victory in Berlin’s state election on Sunday.
“Anyone who casts their vote for the AfD is playing the extremists’ game and undermining credibility,” Merz declared. “In any case, this is incompatible with the values of my party, the CDU [Christian Democratic Union of Germany].”
Despite winning the vote in the September 6 election in the eastern German state, the AfD fell three seats short of the absolute majority that candidate Ulrich Siegmund sought.
Founded in 2013 as a eurosceptic movement, the AfD gained support by adopting an increasingly hardline stance against immigration following the arrival of approximately one million refugees in Germany in 2015, many from war-torn Syria.
The party has since become a significant political force in much of eastern Germany, particularly among voters disillusioned with mainstream parties, although most traditional parties have committed to not forming coalitions with the AfD.
Merz’s remarks came after the far-left Left Party’s victory in the Berlin state election on September 20, another setback for the chancellor’s ruling Christian Democrats.
Lead candidate Elif Eralp campaigned on the issue of the soaring cost of housing in the German capital and immediately pledged to proceed with a plan to nationalize private housing associations, which control a substantial portion of the city’s housing stock.
The result, which nearly doubled the party’s previous electoral performance, could lead to her becoming the first mayor of Berlin from the Left Party, which originated from the former East German communist party after the country’s reunification 36 years ago.
Eralp, 45, the daughter of left-wing Turkish parents who fled a coup in 1980, stated that the increasingly difficult rental situation was the most significant social problem in the capital.
She committed to moving forward with the nationalization of housing associations, which she accused of driving property speculation, in line with a 2021 referendum where 58 percent of voters supported the proposal.
While the AfD has garnered the most attention, the Left Party has also benefited from a general shift away from mainstream centre-left and centre-right parties.
Meanwhile, Merz has seen his approval rating reach a record low. Earlier this month, a survey by Germany’s public broadcaster ARD revealed that only one in ten respondents expressed satisfaction with his performance, the lowest figure for any chancellor since the survey began in 1997.
Another major electoral test is anticipated in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, where voters are scheduled to elect a new parliament in April.
