Bavarian premier calls far-right AfD members Putin's 'court jesters'

Bavarian Premier Markus Söder on Sunday accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of being Russian President Vladimir Putin's "court jesters."

"These people are sycophants, they are Putin's court jesters, they are Kremlin servants," said Söder at a conservative youth conference in south-western Germany.

AfD lawmakers have invited groups of visitors to the Russian embassy in Berlin, he said. The comments come after the AfD announced that several of its politicians are also due to visit Moscow.

Söder is the leader of the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

The CDU and CSU are the only remaining parties in Germany that can successfully oppose the AfD, said Söder, countering criticism that the bloc is too similar to the rhetoric of right-wing populists.

"The only ones capable of keeping the radicals out of power are the CDU and CSU, no one else in the country." he argued. 

Söder predicted "big and tough battles" for upcoming state election campaigns, especially in eastern Germany.

Echoing Merz, the Bavarian leader ruled out cooperation with the AfD.

"We have a different idea of freedom," Söder said. It should not be the case that the judiciary and the police are controlled solely by the head of state and that minorities are oppressed.

"Our C forbids us to do that," he said, referring to the reference to Christianity in the party's name.

Söder said the AfD is partly made up of "strange people," many of whom are suspected of right-wing extremism or are even under indictment.