German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday accused his conservative rival Friedrich Merz of being ready to cooperate with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), as the rivals faced off in a heated TV debate just two weeks before the country heads to the polls.
“That is my serious concern,” Scholz said, after Merz controversially decided late last month to pass a motion in Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, with the support of the AfD.
Scholz called the move a “breach of word” and a “breach of taboo,” insisting he could no longer trust Merz.
Merz – whose conservative CDU/CSU alliance is leading the polls on around 30% ahead of the vote on February 23 – repeated his denial that the move represented cooperation with the AfD.
“There is a world of distance between us” on policy, Merz said. “There are no similarities between the AfD and the [CDU/CSU].”
Journalists watch the ARD and ZDF debate for the Bundestag election campaign between German Chancellor and top candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Olaf Scholz (L), and Friedrich Merz, Chairman and top candidate of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative rival Friedrich Merz face off in a live TV debate, exactly two weeks before the country heads to the polls. Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Journalists watch the ARD and ZDF debate for the Bundestag election campaign between German Chancellor and top candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Olaf Scholz (L), and Friedrich Merz, Chairman and top candidate of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative rival Friedrich Merz face off in a live TV debate, exactly two weeks before the country heads to the polls. Kay Nietfeld/dpa
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