CSU deputy Weber says AfD 'firewall' in 'us or them' sense must end

Manfred Weber, deputy leader of Bavaria's CSU, has called into question how Germany's conservative Union bloc deals with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), just ahead of a crisis retreat by the CDU leadership. "The firewall in the sense of 'them or us' must become history," Weber, who leads the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. He said the current situation in state parliaments was a "huge burden" for the Union.

Weber pointed to France, saying President Emmanuel Macron had for ten years framed the choice as "Le Pen or me" and might have to hand the Elysee Palace to Marine Le Pen's camp next year. He also criticized the CDU-led minority governments in Thuringia and Saxony for having to vote constantly with left-wing parties.

Weber nonetheless ruled out cooperation with the AfD, calling it "our political enemy" and "clearly not among those we can work with." The debate follows heavy Union losses in three state elections in September and the disputed election of an AfD politician as speaker of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament.