Bavarian leader calls for a firewall against the far left

Markus Söder, the Bavarian leader and head of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), called on Sunday for a firewall against the far left after The Left party in Berlin reached an agreement in initial coalition talks with the city's Greens and Social Democrats (SPD).

The much talked about "firewall" has to date referred to the agreement by long-standing established parties, such as the CSU or its sister party, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU), to refuse to cooperate with the far right. The policy has been mainly directed against the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has come out on top or close to it in recent German state elections.

But Söder says mainstream parties should also watch out for the other side of the politican spectrum.

"When people talk about firewalls, then it is rather a firewall to the left that is needed," the Bavarian leader told a Bonn gathering of the youth wing of Germany's allied conservative parties (JU). 

Germany's top leadership must not be identified with "such forces," he said.

Söder accused The Left party of "deeply rooted anti-Semitism." He said what was happening in Berlin was being discussed in public as "far too harmless." "What is happening now is a new fall from grace," the CSU leader said.

Söder backs JU resolution

Söder endorsed a resolution by the JU that calls, among other things, for a state government coalition of The Left, the Greens and the SPD to be excluded from intelligence information from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic spy agency, and the Criminal Police Office. 

Such a resolution was "absolutely necessary," Söder said.