The extreme right of Germany crashes through the firewall – Politico

“We will present them independently of who approves them,” said Merz – a statement that was considered to be meaningful that he was ready to accept AFD help to obtain the line proposals. He reiterated the point in a television interview: “If AFD agrees, they agree. If they don’t, let them abstain. There are no conversations, no negotiations, no joint government between us, “he said.

The response of his political adversaries was rapid, his words denounced as a bouncing a break from a longtime taboo. The candidate of the Greens, Robert Habeck, told his lecture congress that Merz had made a “not too far” and flouted European law.

Meanwhile, AFD’s candidate, candidate Alice Weidel sang: “The firewall fell.”

And as the result was read Wednesday evening, that’s exactly what happened. The first CDU request to restrict migration scraped by only three voices, supported by two small parties and AFD. The dam has now collapsed. And in the middle of the fury, some will take for the repercussions to be fully understood.

The Merz problem is that winning the elections and the training of the next government requires two different sets of skills and messaging. The CDU fears that some of its voters will be committed to AFD due to immigration. And Weidel echoes Trump, declaring that she would close the borders of Germany “the first day”. Of course, this would not happen because it is almost impossible for AFD to form a government – although the line will resonate with some.

But Merz and those around him – some of which were disturbed by his recent element – know that at that same first day, they will have to form a coalition, and the only two possible partners are the SPD or the Greens (or both, If arithmetic goes against them). And although the two parties have definitively hardened their positions on immigration, they also do not want to alienate voters who want a more moderate position and worry about the growth of xenophobia and hostility towards migrants.

In fact, the current coalition has already started to reduce the number: some 230,000 people asked for asylum in Germany in 2024, marking a drop of 30% compared to the previous year, and the moves of “illegal” have increase. The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has chosen not to shout too hard on these statistics, trying to keep both sides on board – this is an approach that characterized the management of Scholz, including its reluctance to explain publicly exactly how much ‘German military aid in Ukraine.

But Merz apparently concluded that voters want their meat to be rare and that if it does not deliver, AFD will. And although he said that his position on migration is “non -negotiable” with regard to the formation of the next coalition, he will finally have to negotiate with potential partners of traditional parties who consider his actions this week as unreasonable. It is his constraint – and German – a terrible link.