Following criticism of his remarks on the fire wall, Minister President Michael Kretschmer has reaffirmed his fundamental opposition to the AfD. “There will not and cannot be any coalition or cooperation with the AfD, which is a confirmed far-right party,” the CDU politician said in an interview with the *Leipziger Zeitung* and the *Sächsische Zeitung*. “But of course, AfD members of the state parliament have parliamentary rights.” They can submit motions, and some chair committees in the state parliament. “We talk and debate with them every day.”
Kretschmer recently sparked a debate with a comment he made in an interview with the *Handelsblatt*. “Anyone who still talks about ‘firewalls’ has failed to recognize the signs of the times. We must talk to anyone who wants to talk,” he told the newspaper. The term “firewall” refers to the stance of not cooperating with the AfD.
