Merkel’s CDU could ‘tear itself apart’ after call for AfD coalition
Regional politician gives warning, after calls for barriers on far-right outfit to be lifted
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union risks “tearing itself apart” over her legacy in the wake of a string of poor election results, as some conservative politicians double down on her pro-immigration stance while others eye a pact with the nationalist far-right.
In the eastern state of Thuringia, where the CDU was beaten into third place by the openly xenophobic Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) at state elections last month, 17 politicians from the party have written a letter calling for lifting the cordon sanitaire around the far-right outfit.