Merkel: Germany's governing parties must resist far-right AfD

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday urged Germany's established political parties not to allow themselves to be led by the nose by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Centrist parties must make their policies clearer to separate themselves from the AfD, Merkel told public broadcaster phoenix in a rare intervention in public debate.

Merkel, who served as chancellor from 2005 to 2021, said she could not have worked with parties that are opposed to the European Union, have a completely different relationship to Russia and do not defend liberal democracy.

She addressed her remarks to both the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the conservative alliance she once led, made up of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU).

"Looking for majorities with the AfD is out of the question merely by how they define themselves," Merkel said.

The former chancellor last spoke publicly on political issues in January during the parliamentary election campaign, when she criticized conservative leader Friedrich Merz for passing a motion on curbing migration with the support of the AfD.

Despite the controversy, Merz subsequently became chancellor at the head of a coalition between the CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD.

Merkel made clear that she would not comment on every topical issue, but said the January debate on the AfD was a "rather unique case."

The AfD is Germany's largest opposition party, and recent opinion polls put it level with or ahead of the CDU/CSU.