CSU leader Markus Söder continues to reject any cooperation with the AfD. He was responding to Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU), who—given the political balance of power in eastern Germany—had called for a willingness to engage in talks with all parties. This “would ultimately lead to a massive split within the Union,” said the Bavarian Minister-President during a ZDF summer interview in Tutzing on Lake Starnberg. The Union must not become “a kind of stepping stone” and pave the way for the AfD to come to power. “I’m not going to be part of that. I’m fundamentally opposed to it. I believe we must pursue policies that promote democracy and centrist politics. And that’s why the AfD doesn’t belong there,” Söder emphasized. The AfD has also declared “very bluntly” that it wants to oust the Union from office and that the Union is its main enemy, according to Söder. “Things are happening and words are being spoken that go beyond what democratic culture is all about. I cannot and will not work with such people—especially those within the party and its leaders, Höcke and company.” Kretschmer, on the other hand, had told the “Handelsblatt”: “Anyone who’s still talking about firewalls hasn’t recognized the signs of the times.” When asked, Söder said he suspected that statements like Kretschmer’s would unsettle many people. With an eye on the political balance of power in eastern Germany, Söder advocated for the CDU to continue governing there without the AfD. Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved“I cannot and will not work with them”
Söder directly contradicts Kretschmer
