- Title: REFILE: Germany's Merz will not allow far-right AfD 'to ruin our country'
- Date: 20th February 2026
- Summary: PFORZHEIM, GERMANY (RECENT - FEBRUARY 13, 2026) (REUTERS) AFD CANDIDATE FOR STATE ELECTION IN BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG, MARKUS FROHNMAIER WALKING ONTO STAGE AUDIENCE CHEERING FROHNMAIER GIVING SPEECH FROHNMAIER GETTING APPLAUSE AUDIENCE APPLAUDING AND CHEERING VARIOUS OF AFD CO-PARTY LEADER ALICE WEIDEL WALKING TO LECTERN WITH DANCE MOVES WEIDEL GIVING SPEECH AUDIENCE APPLAUDIN
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: AFD CDU conservatives far-right party summit
- Location: STUTTGART & PFORZHEIM, GERMANY
- City: STUTTGART & PFORZHEIM, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Europe,Lawmaking,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002717820022026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday (February 20) vowed to uphold an informal pact within Germany's political mainstream not to partner with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
"We will not allow these people from the so-called Alternative for Germany to ruin our country," Merz told fellow members of his conservative CDU at a national party conference in the southwestern city of Stuttgart.
"And that is why I say with full conviction: this party cannot be a partner of the CDU," Merz said, adding that the AfD must expect a bitter fight by conservatives.
Many Germans are alarmed by the AfD, whose rise evokes parallels with the Nazi Party's ascent in the 1930s, when authoritarian rule was established through legal means.
Germany's mainstream parties refuse to work with its lawmakers by giving them influential positions in parliament or forming coalitions.
The AfD argues this is undemocratic.
(Production: Andi Buerger, Lena Toepler) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None