There are situations in which politicians who have little left to say to each other still appear together before the press. This was certainly the case when Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and his party colleague, Sven Schulze, the state premier of Saxony-Anhalt, discussed the results of Sunday's state election. They described the results as a catastrophe for the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — an earthquake, a disaster. Merz appeared shaken and devastated, to put it mildly.
He thanked Schulze for his work during the campaign. Then Merz added: "Not only did something change in Saxony-Anhalt yesterday but throughout all of Germany. It will have repercussions, including on the international stage."
This is because the victors in the state election, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), oppose supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia's war of aggression, and many AfD politicians maintain close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin's government, Merz explained.
No regard for the rule of law?
Speaking about the AfD, Merz adopted an almost confrontational tone. Majorities can change, he said, and democrats must always be aware of that and accept it.
