German media mogul Döpfner slams anti-AfD 'firewall'

Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Döpfner, whose media empire includes US-based Politico and Germany's mass-circulation Bild, has criticized the infamous "firewall" preventing mainstream parties from cooperating with the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The firewall "offends many voters and creates martyr myths," Döpfner said in an interview with dpa released on Thursday. 

Rather, he said, parties should draw their political red lines and act accordingly - while refusing to entertain coalitions with the far-right group.

"I believe it is right to rule out the AfD's participation in government and coalitions with the AfD. However, this should apply equally to the socialist Left," he argued.

The 63-year-old refused to speculate on the outcome of Sunday's election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD is polling above 40% as it seeks to take power for the first time. 

Döpfner - whose company also owns conservative German daily Die Welt and recently bought the London-based Daily Telegraph - attributes the strength of the political fringes to the weakness of Germany's centrist parties. The only way to prevent a further drift, he says, is to "strengthen the competence, credibility and success of the political centre."

The media tycoon said mainstream parties' recurring talk of banning the AfD is "toxic," arguing against the move unless it can be conclusively proven that the party is hostile to the constitutional order.