German politicians reacted with shock on Friday after opposition leader Friedrich Merz opened the door to cooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on migration reform after an Afghan man was held in connection with a deadly knife attack. German mainstream parties have previously gone to great lengths to avoid passing legislation while relying on votes from the far-right party, a stance known as the "firewall." However, Merz said in Berlin that his conservative parliamentary g
They didn’t quite get it right:
The perpetrator was not due to be deported, he withdrew his request for asylum and pledged to leave on his own accord.
Merz didn’t agree to start a coalition with the AfD, they merely agree on a key point (which is increased number of deportations for criminal immigrants).
Exactly. I think there is a real danger that Merz will turn that into a coalition later and my personal opinion of him is that he is a particularly nasty example of a morally bankrupt piece of shit (and always has been). But let’s stick to the facts. This is neither a cooperation nor a coalition, yet.
Agree, he’s a major dick who can’t be trusted. Same as cum-ex Olaf. We just don’t have any useful politicians with a semblance of backbone in Germany. Unfortunately the same is true for most of Europe.
He won’t, at least not this year. There are still too many people in the CDU who’d be up in arms against a coalition or any other form of formal cooperation with the AfD, and many of the CDU’s voters are in the same boat. Not necessarily a majority in either case, but a big enough minority to kill any hopes of stable government or of winning an election with the party and electorate split.
Merz knows that. He’s an asshole, not stupid.
Are you still sure he’s not an asshole AND stupid at the same time? He tried the same trick twice and failed miserably. Now he’s being mocked by the afd and this dumb and reckless maneuver has probably cost his party quite a lot of votes (and most of those unfortunately will go to the afd).
I sure hope you’re assessment of the CDU is right, but honestly I wouldn’t bet on it. If you look at how quickly things in the US go down the drain, implementing fascism and destroying basic human rights at a speed that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago, I’d be very, very sceptical about the CDUs promises regarding their so-called “Brandmauer” (Firewall) against the extreme right.