BERLIN (AP) 鈥 The front-runner in Germany's upcoming election said Monday that the far-right Alternative for Germany is his 鈥渕ost important opponent鈥 and his party will 鈥渘ever鈥 work with it, following a week in which he was accused of breaking a taboo on dealing with the far right.
Center-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz's Union bloc has been leading polls ahead of the Feb. 23 election. But he drew protests after he put a motion to parliament last week calling for Germany to turn back many more migrants at its borders. It thanks to support from the far-right party.
That was a first that prompted strong criticism from his opponents and from ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, who once led his own party. took to the streets over the weekend.
Merz, determined to prove his party's commitment to a , rejects the criticism. He says his position is unchanged and that he didn't and won't work with Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is in second place in recent polls. He points the finger at the center-left governing parties for being unwilling to approve changes to migration rules.
鈥淚 can assure voters in Germany very clearly of one thing: We will not work with the party that calls itself Alternative for Germany 鈥 not before (the election), not after, never,鈥 he told a convention of his Christian Democratic Union on Monday, to applause. 鈥淭his party stands against everything our party and our country built up in Germany over the past years and decades. It stands against our Western orientation, it stands against the euro, it stands against NATO.鈥
鈥淚t is the most important opponent for us in this election campaign 鈥 we want to make it small again,鈥 Merz said to applause, adding that there won't be a minority government with its support or any other variation on cooperation. 鈥淭here are no ifs, there are no buts.鈥
The governing parties say Merz broke his word not to allow any measures to pass thanks to AfD's votes in an outgoing parliament in which there are no clear majorities. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has suggested Merz can no longer be trusted not to form a government with AfD, which Merz angrily denies.
鈥淲e are being attacked, and there are protests against our policy,鈥 he said Monday, but 鈥渋t's important to hold our course鈥 on migration.
