He made this statement a week before the elections to the state assembly.
The far-right party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) is leading in public opinion polls and has a real chance to win a majority of seats and form its first state government.
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“I can’t imagine international investors wanting to start factory construction when the state is led by an AfD premier,” F. Merz said in an interview with broadcaster ARD, adding that “this is a decision that voters themselves must make.”
Currently, Saxony-Anhalt is led by F. Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which governs in coalition with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the liberals (FDP).
F. Merz said that his party will “do everything to prevent” the formation of an AfD government in the last week of the campaign, as there is a threat to the region’s “governability.”
He acknowledged that his party faces “difficult conditions” in this state.
A poll released on Friday shows that 23% support the CDU, while 40% support the AfD.
Under Germany’s federal system, if the AfD were to take power at the state level for the first time, the party would gain broad powers in areas such as healthcare, education, migration, and security policy.
This would be a strong blow to F. Merz, who promised to reduce AfD’s popularity by taking a tougher stance on migration issues and reviving Germany’s struggling economy when he took office.
However, since taking office last May, he has seen his and the CDU/CSU alliance’s ratings decline, while the AfD has established itself as a stable leader nationally.
Other parties have so far maintained a “firewall” policy, refusing to cooperate with the AfD.
If the AfD fails to win an absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU may try to form a government with left-leaning parties such as the SPD or the Greens.
Such an agreement would likely require the support of the far-left “Left” party (Linke), with which the CDU is also committed not to cooperate.
