German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to uphold the informal agreement within the German political system not to partner with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Reuters quoted him as saying.
"We will not let these people from the so-called "Alternative for Germany" to ruin our country," Merz told his conservative CDU colleagues at a national party conference in the southwestern city of Stuttgart.
"And that's why I say with complete conviction: this party cannot be a partner of the CDU," Merz said, adding that the AfD should expect a fierce fight from the conservatives.
Many Germans are concerned about the "Alternative for Germany" party, whose rise has drawn parallels to the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1930s, when authoritarian rule was established through legal means.
The main parties in Germany refuse to work with AfD members, denying them influential positions in parliament and not forming coalitions. The AfD says this is undemocratic.