German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Sunday that the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt would be “considerably damaged” by a far-right government, one week before voters there elect a state assembly.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has a commanding lead in opinion polls there, with the possibility of gaining a majority of seats and forming its first-ever state government.
“I can’t imagine that international investors will want to come to break ground at a new factory alongside an AfD state premier,” Merz told the ARD broadcaster in an interview, adding that “this is a decision that the voters have to take”.
Currently, Saxony-Anhalt is governed by Merz’s centre-right CDU in coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SDP) and the liberal FDP.
Merz said that his party would use the last week of campaigning to “do everything to prevent” the prospect of an AfD government and that the “governability” of the region was at risk.
He admitted that his party faced “difficult conditions” in the state.
A poll published on Friday put the CDU on 23 percent and the AfD on 40 percent among the state’s voters.
Under Germany’s federal system, the AfD taking power at a state level for the first time would hand the party wide-ranging powers in areas such as health, education and even immigration and security policy.
It would also be a severe blow to Merz, who took office pledging to reduce the AfD’s appeal through a harder line on immigration and kick-starting Germany’s stuttering economy.
However, since coming to office last May he has seen his own poll ratings and those of his CDU/CSU alliance erode while the AfD has established a steady lead at a national level.
Other parties have so far maintained a “firewall” against co-operation with the AfD.
In the event the AfD fails to win an outright majority in Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU may attempt to form a government with other parties to its left such as the SPD and the Greens.
Such an arrangement would likely require the support of the far-left Linke party, with whom the CDU has also pledged not to co-operate.
