Germany’s far-right Putin-friendly AfD party took a considerable hit following a televised debate.
During it, CDU’s chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz, attacked AFD’s leader, Alice Weidel, who believes the country should cut off aid to Kyiv.
“Take a look at the pictures, Mrs Weidel, and look at the people in Ukraine! You have just said a very treacherous sentence here: We are no longer perceived as neutral by Russia. No, Mrs Weidel, we are not neutral. We are not in between,” he said, adding: “We are on Ukraine’s side and together with Ukraine we are defending the political order that we have here. And the words you have just spoken here are a confirmation for me that I will do everything I can to prevent you from ever getting their hands on political responsibility in this country. These are the people we stand behind and no one else.”
After the debate, 42% of respondents dubbed Merz as the best person to reign the country, followed by incumbent Olaf Scholz (19%), and Alice Weidel (16%). Robert Habeck of the Green Party is recognized to be the worst person for the job, receiving only 13% of support.
Germany is poised to hold the election on 23 February. CDU/CSU is leading in the polls with roughly 30% of support. The respective percentage for AfD is around 21%.
Merz has already ruled out a potential coalition with AfD, opting for collaboration with the center-left parties instead.
