Angela Merkel criticized AfD's isolation strategy

Brief retelling from RIA II

Angela Merkel criticized the strategy of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to politically isolate the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Merkel called on Germany's political parties to get rid of their "fixation" with the AfD.

Merkel was “shocked” by the results of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and called them a “watershed moment” in German history.

BERLIN, September 8 - RIA Novosti. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticized the Christian Democratic Union's (CDU) strategy of politically isolating the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after the elections in Saxony-Anhalt.

The ruling CDU/CSU bloc in Germany adheres to the so-called firewall strategy towards the AfD, which implies a boycott of any of its initiatives and the exclusion of any form of cooperation. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly stated that the CDU will never cooperate with the AfD and will do everything to prevent this party from coming to power in Germany.

“After all, this (the policy of isolation - ed.) is not what convinces people. I (as a politician - ed.) must say what I want for this country," the Handelsblatt newspaper quotes Merkel as saying.

In this regard, Merkel called on German political parties to get rid of their “fixation” on the AfD.

Along the way, she admitted that she was “shocked” by the results of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and considers them a “turning point” in the history of Germany.

“As a member of the CDU, my heart bleeds,” Merkel said, commenting on her party’s loss.

The right-wing opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD), according to preliminary data, won with 43.8% of the vote in the parliamentary elections in Saxony-Anhalt. She advocates tightening migration policy and protecting traditional values.