CDU chief Merz: “The word firewall has never been part of our vocabulary” | EUROtoday

After the great election outcomes for AfD and the Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) alliance in Saxony and Thuringia, CDU chief Merz needs to strengthen the political heart.

“We will now say to the voters in Brandenburg: Take a close look at what happened in Thuringia and Saxony. Make sure that there are clear political majorities in the middle of the political spectrum,” Merz instructed the German Press Agency in Berlin.

With a view to the upcoming state elections in Brandenburg, Merz is especially taking the Social Democrats to process: The SPD nonetheless has the Prime Minister in Brandenburg with Dietmar Woidke and is clearly not threatened by the 5 % hurdle.

“The SPD also has a responsibility to ensure that there will continue to be stable political majorities in the political center in the future,” mentioned Merz. In surveys, the SPD in Brandenburg is at 20 %, the CDU at 19 %. The AfD is at round 24 %, the BSW at 17 %.

CDU dealing with a breaking level? Only within the media

When requested whether or not he noticed the CDU dealing with a serious check regardless of the upcoming talks in Saxony and Thuringia with the BSW and, to some extent, the Left Party, Merz mentioned: “No. The media is partly making it up to us.” We are “very clear on these issues and, moreover, we are in absolute agreement. There was great agreement in the presidium and the federal executive board with the Thuringians, the Saxons and all of us.”

Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer and Thuringia's CDU chief Mario Voigt have made it clear what is appropriate to them and what’s not, mentioned Merz. “I have absolute confidence in both of them that they will handle the task that the voters have now given them very responsibly.”

When requested whether or not he would personally intervene if there have been turbulence within the state associations or calls for for talks with the AfD, the federal celebration chairman mentioned: “I do not see that this requires intervention on my part.”

“No unsolicited advice from the West German comfort zone”

Merz admitted that there’s “of course considerable unease in many parts of the CDU in West Germany with regard to what is now being discussed in Thuringia and Saxony.” “But we as the CDU have to put up with that. And we should not give unsolicited public advice from our West German comfort zone.”

Regarding Kretschmer's advice to chorus from utilizing the time period “firewall” towards the AfD, Merz mentioned: “The word firewall has never been part of our vocabulary. It has always been imposed on us from outside.”

He added: “I don't need to distance myself from a term that I didn't introduce myself.” Kretschmer had argued that the AfD was exploiting the time period firewall for its personal profit, and that it was “a master at portraying itself as a martyr.” That appealed to some voters.

Merz mentioned his celebration achieved outcomes on Sunday that have been twice pretty much as good as these of the whole visitors mild coalition mixed. That is why the CDU now has the accountability to make sure steady governments that may cope with state political points appropriately. There is a transparent settlement: “There will be no coalition with the AfD, no cooperation with the AfD and the same applies to the Left Party.”

CDU chief: BSW largely unknown amount

The BSW is “a largely unknown quantity” for the CDU, mentioned the CDU chief. The query now could be “whether the MPs who were elected there are possibly prepared to participate in forming a sensible government,” defined Merz, including: “But that is a question that must now be decided in Dresden and Erfurt and not in Berlin.” The talks may take a number of extra weeks, and they’re a great distance from forming coalitions.

Wagenknecht won’t be a member of both authorities, Merz mentioned. His agency perception is that the BSW founder “will not descend into the depths of state politics. Ms. Wagenknecht has never done that in federal politics either.”

She was “always flying at a high altitude. She never really did any work in a government or in a parliament.”