German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said again that his party would not cooperate in any way with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, DPA reported, BTA reported.
"And not only because there is a firewall between us and the AfD - there is a whole universe of differences between our party and that party," Merz said in the southwestern city of Rust at a conference of the youth organization of his conservative bloc. "There is nothing in common between us and them that binds us."
Merz has consistently stated that his Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc will never work with the AfD - a policy of isolating the party, known in Germany as the "firewall" policy.
The chancellor stressed that he had no intention of jeopardizing the historical achievements of his party, which he associated with the names of Helmut Kohl and Konrad Adenauer.
Merz also stressed that as long as he is in power, Germany will remain a country open to immigrants. According to him, although a consistent fight must be waged against illegal immigration, immigrants who want to work in Germany will be welcome in the future.