Following the recent votes in the German Bundestag, the SPD chair Saskia Esken has sharply criticized the CDU chair and opposition leader Friedrich Merz, ruling him out for a government position.
“Last week, Friedrich Merz abandoned the consensus among democratic parties. He has refused to find a compromise with democratic parties and instead has taken the votes of the far-right to his side” Esken told the Rheinische Post (Monday edition).
“His promise to not collaborate with the far-right has been completely discredited and the wall to the AfD has fallen” Esken said. “Friedrich Merz wanted to push through his politics with the votes of the enemies of democracy. He has thus broken a long-standing taboo and has grandly failed” the SPD chair added.
“Now, Merz is announcing that he will seek majorities in the parliament together with the AfD after the election. This makes him unfit to be a chancellor candidate and disqualifies him for any government responsibility” Esken said at the start of the CDU party convention on Monday.