Germany’s Christian Democrats close ranks with the far-right Alternative for Germany
Nine months before the next federal election, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is cozying up to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). This is the issue at the heart of the government crisis in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Merkel at the Chancellor's Office on Monday evening (AP photo/Markus Schreiber, pool).
The crisis is not limited to a few right-wing troublemakers in a relatively insignificant CDU state association, which represents only three percent of delegates at CDU federal conferences. Rather, the leadership of the federal party has indicated its readiness as well to openly cooperate with the AfD.