Merz Canceled Planned Talk with Trump After the Latter's Support for 'Alternative for Germany'
German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz canceled a planned phone call with US President Donald Trump after the American leader spoke positively about the right-wing populist party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD), which won the elections in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, The Guardian reports .
Merz's spokesperson did not specify the reason for canceling the call and would not say whether it was related to Trump's statements. However, the chancellor's representative noted that Merz has repeatedly spoken out against the interference of external factors in Germany's internal politics and comments by foreign politicians regarding German elections.
In the elections on September 6, the AfD received a record 43.8% of the votes in Saxony-Anhalt and took first place. Merz's Christian Democratic Union gained only 17.2% — this is the party's worst result in the entire history of elections in Saxony-Anhalt.
Commenting on the results, Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social that the populist party won amid German dissatisfaction with "terrible" migration rules, which, in his opinion, caused significant damage to Germany. He did not directly name the AfD.
After the elections, Merz, speaking in parliament, sharply criticized the AfD. He stated that the party's proposals for mass deportation of illegal migrants and foreigners denied asylum could be a form of "ethnic cleansing" based on skin color and origin. The chancellor also accused the AfD of facilitating Russia's attempts to destabilize Germany.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, in turn, called the CDU's result a defeat and effectively a referendum on Merz's leadership. She stated that the chancellor's time was over, and the German people want change and will get it.
During Merz's speech in parliament, AfD deputies shouted insults at him. Bundestag Speaker Julia Klöckner had to remind them that they were not on a football field and warn that offenders could be removed from the hall.
Now reading
Do you remember the Minsk resident who saved a flag from under the feet of riot police in 2017 — at the cost of his freedom? Now he, a former political prisoner, needs help 3
Do you remember the Minsk resident who saved a flag from under the feet of riot police in 2017 — at the cost of his freedom? Now he, a former political prisoner, needs help
"They see Belarus as part of Russia." What the rise of "Alternative for Germany" means, how far it can go, and how Belarusians should position themselves 4848
Comments