Merz warns about the AfD government in Saxony-Anhalt and is confident that he will catch up

Chancellor Friedrich Merz made his first election campaign appearances in East Germany. In Quedlinburg in Saxony-Anhalt, he warned of the consequences of a possible AfD government. “Saxony-Anhalt must not become a testing ground for angry citizens,” said the CDU chairman. “In the end, this comes at the expense of the people in Saxony-Anhalt.”

“If the absolute majority of a right-wing populist party were to be determined next Monday, then international investors will think three times before investing in Saxony-Anhalt,” said Merz. The Chancellor had already made similar comments in the ARD summer interview on Sunday.

Merz is racing to catch up

Merz was confident that there would be a catch-up race in the last week before the election. There is a lot at stake, "but I am confident that there will be a good result for Sven Schulze and the CDU on Sunday," said Merz in Quedlinburg.

The election will take place in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6th. In the ARD pre-election poll last Wednesday, the CDU and its top candidate Schulze came in second with 22 percent - well behind the AfD, which got 42 percent.

CDU in Saxony-Anhalt keeps its distance

Prime Minister Schulze emphasized in Quedlinburg that Merz was welcome in the election campaign. "It was the CDU's wish here to have this exact event take place."

But the relationship between the two politicians is considered tense. The background is reports that the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt sees the Chancellor and politics in Berlin as a burden in the election campaign. Schulze, together with the other two East German CDU prime ministers, clearly opposed a core element of the federal government's planned pension reform - the abolition of the pension without deductions after 45 years of contributions.

The distance seems far. This is also shown by the cancellation of a retreat by the CDU Federal Presidium in Magdeburg planned for the end of August - at Schulze's express request. It was said at the time that the final mobilization would allow for more election campaign appointments instead of internal meetings.

For a long time it was unclear whether and to what extent Merz would visit Saxony-Anhalt. Larger performances were originally planned - for example in Ilsenburg and at Geiseltalsee. However, there will not be a classic public election campaign appearance in front of a larger audience, also because the CDU is expecting disruptors on site. However, the visit to Quedlinburg went smoothly.

Some passers-by disrupt the event

Things were different in Kühlungsborn in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. There the Chancellor was booed and insulted by some people present on the beach promenade. Some passers-by described Merz as: “warmonger” and “Pinocchio”. They also called for his resignation. An announced press statement from the Chancellor was canceled. There was no justification for this.

The Merz opponents sometimes received opposition from the audience - from people who appealed to the decency of the loud Merz opponents. The state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will take place on September 20th.