"Remigration is nothing other than a synonym for ethnic cleansing," said Merz on Wednesday, voicing uncharacteristically strong opposition to the far-right following a ground-shaking state election.

The German chancellor rules out working with the AfD even though he concedes its win in Saxony-Anhalt has upset his party’s foundations.

The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany scored its biggest win yet Sunday with 44 percent of the vote in the Saxony-Anhalt, against about 18 percent for the center-right CDU,…