German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken out against what he calls "extremism" in the country's politics, after heavy defeats at the hands of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in local elections.
Speaking at an event in Berlin on Wednesday, Merz stressed: "This is a task for society as a whole, and I intend to play my part in it." He said extremism is making powerful inroads into state parliaments.
The chancellor's remarks came a day after an AfD member was elected speaker of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt, and after the Left party won the Berlin state election on Sunday.
Merz warned: "Anyone who votes for the AfD is aiding and abetting extremists and undermining credibility. In any case, this does not align with the values of my party, the CDU (Christian Democratic Union)."
Although it won the September 6 vote in the eastern German state, the AfD fell three seats short of the absolute majority its candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, had been aiming for.
Founded in 2013 as a Eurosceptic movement, the AfD has won over voters with an increasingly hardline anti-immigration stance after roughly one million refugees arrived in Germany in 2015, many of them from war-torn Syria. Since then, it has become the dominant political force across much of eastern Germany, particularly among voters disillusioned with mainstream parties, even though most traditional parties have pledged not to form coalitions with the AfD.
Berlin election
Merz's comments followed the Left party's victory in the Berlin state election on September 20, another setback for the chancellor's governing CDU.
Top candidate Elif Eralp campaigned on soaring housing costs in the German capital and immediately pledged to carry out a promise to nationalize private housing associations, which supply the bulk of the city's housing.
The result, which nearly doubled the party's previous vote share, could make her the first Berlin mayor from the Left party, which grew out of the former East German communist party after German reunification 36 years ago.
Eralp, 45, the daughter of left-wing Turkish parents who fled the 1980 coup, said increasingly difficult rental conditions are the biggest social issue in the capital. She has pledged to press ahead with nationalizing housing associations she accuses of fueling real estate speculation, in line with a 2021 referendum in which 58 percent of voters backed the proposal.
While the AfD draws the most attention, the Left party has also benefited from a shift away from established center-left and center-right parties.
Merz, meanwhile, is at a record low in the polls. Earlier this month, a survey by German public broadcaster ARD found that only one in ten respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with his performance — the lowest level for any chancellor since the survey began in 1997.
Another major electoral test lies ahead in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, where voters will elect a new parliament in April.
