Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said he does not rule out tougher laws that would curb the excessive benefits politicians and their relatives can obtain. Speaking to newspapers of the Neuen Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft (NBR) and the Rheinpfalz, he described the AfD as a party “rooted in deep‑seated nepotism and cronyism”. Merz added that while he would prefer to avoid legal regulation, the extent of the abuse might make such regulation unavoidable.
He urged the CDU to confront the AfD not only harshly on political issues but also to challenge the party’s image as champions of “cleanliness” and patriotism against its actual behaviour. Merz blamed part of the AfD’s success on lapses within his own party, noting that the CDU had given too much space to topics – such as migration – that the AfD now dominates in an unacceptable oversimplification.
On the prospect of working with the AfD, Merz was unequivocal. “I can only say for myself: Until I am chairman of the CDU, cooperation with that party is excluded. I am not willing to risk our republic and its track record for short‑term parliamentary majorities” the chancellor said. He dismissed the idea of a CDU‑backed AfD minister‑president as “unthinkable”.