German conservative Merz accused of flirting with far-right AfD Related news

Bogdan Hofbauer

BERLIN Germany's conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz faced sharp criticism on Tuesday for flirting with the far-right AfD party ahead of the Feb. 23 parliamentary elections. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, accused his rival Merz of undermining democratic parties' united front against right-wing extremists by pushing for stricter migration legislation this week with the AfD's support. “Citizens must now ask themselves whether they can be certain that a coalition with the far-