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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Philip Oltermann in Berlin and agencies

German centre-right leader retreats from remarks about working with AfD

Friedrich Merz
Fears linger that Merz could be open to breaching a fundamental taboo in Germany’s postwar politics. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

The leader of Germany’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has rowed back from comments that his party was willing to cooperate with the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) at a local political level.

Friedrich Merz’s remarks triggered cries of protest from his own party and raised concerns about the firewall between German conservatives and the far right.

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