German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes appeal to AfD voters
Germany's chancellor has insisted that his coalition has "regained its footing" — despite dismal poll numbers. Friedrich Merz also cautioned against voting for the far-right
Germany's chancellor has insisted that his coalition has "regained its footing" — despite dismal poll numbers. Friedrich Merz also cautioned against voting for the far-right AFD party. The annual summer press conference with the German chancellor is one of the last public events before the holidays. Friedrich Merzwill also be going on vacation soon and the Federal Press Conference Room in the German capital Berlin was packed with journalists eager to hear what he would say. They were greeted by a chancellor who appeared to be quite content with himself — and that despite poor poll numbers, with only between 13% and 20% of people in Germany satisfied with how he and his coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats are doing their jobs. "The coalition has found its footing," said Merz. "The outcome has been positive," he continued. "The federal government has found its rhythm, despite some criticism. We've delivered." He was referring to reforms — adopted but not yet approved by Parliament — pertaining to pensions, healthcare and taxes, which he went on to elaborate on in detail. He specifically mentioned reforms to the pension system, which will allocate a small portion of retirement funds toward investments for the first time. "We should have done this 30 years ago, just like the Swedes, the Danes, the Dutch and many others around the world who did it long ago. But at least we're starting now," Merz said. Journalists mainly asked about the AfD Despite all these reforms, the journalists' questions turned to the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party Germany's domestic intelligence agency describes in part as far-right extremist.
The AfD currently leads in the polls ahead of two state elections in eastern German states this September. How does Merz hope to prevent far-right extremists from taking power in Germany? The chancellor began by evading the question, but when pressed, he surprisingly addressed voters in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania directly: "Take a close look; don't let information from social media — no matter where it is coming from — be your only source. Instead, look at what the federal government is trying to accomplish," Merz said. In response to a question from a journalist from the Netherlands, the German chancellor argued that it would indeed be "something else entirely" if right-wing extremists were once again able to seize power in Germany, of all places, given its Nazi past. Despite the polls, he did not appear to be worried about the September elections. "The election campaigns are just getting underway. I am confident that we will succeed in preventing the AfD from securing a majority of seats in the state legislatures of the three states — especially in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania," he said. Elections are due not only in those two eastern German states in September, but also in Berlin, which is a federal state in its own right. New report backs ban of German far-right party To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Criticism of US policy A question from DW addressed a report about plans by the US State Department to launch a $5 million (€4.3 million) grant program designed to support MAGA-alligned groups in Europe, which might include those affiliated with the AfD.
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