AfD co-chief open to coalition talks after another state election win

The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, said on Monday that his party is open to talks after its election victory in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, despite having no willing coalition partners to work with.

The AfD is unlikely to form a government because all other parties refuse to work with the far right, a policy known in Germany as the "firewall."

However, Chrupalla told the ARD broadcaster on Monday morning that they must "wait and see" if the most likely three-party coalition - comprising the centre-left Social Democrats, The Left and the Greens - would come together. 

"We are in any case open to talks - and it's not just about governing," Chrupalla said, adding that a conversation could also be used to explore what common ground exists. "You don't always have to assume results straight away," he said without elaborating.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) won just 4.9% of the vote in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, falling short of the 5% threshold to enter the state parliament. It is the first time in the CDU's 81-year history that the party failed to win seats in a state parliament.

"We would have liked to make the CDU an offer. They have now disappeared behind their firewall. That's what happens when you exclude yourself and when you essentially have no options for power," Chrupalla said.

The AfD won the election with 38.2% of the vote. Chrupalla said the CDU must now consider whether it wants to abandon its firewall policy. 

"Otherwise the CDU will no longer exist as a people's party in the east," he told Deutschlandfunk, referring also to the formation of a government in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, following a landslide victory for the far-right party in that state election two weeks ago. 

Chrupalla said he was "fairly certain" that AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund would be elected state premier there before Christmas.