Scholz rejects any cooperation with far-right AfD party

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in an interview with a newspaper, rejected any form of cooperation, either on the local, state or national level, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

"There cannot and must not be any cooperation with this party," Scholz told the Thüringer Allgemeine in an article published on Friday.

His comments come after a recent television interview with Friedrich Merz, the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, who suggested the CDU could work with the AfD in local politics.

"I see no reason for cooperation in the municipalities either," the German chancellor said.

"Whoever wants a day-care centre to be built can put forward such a proposal himself. He doesn't need an extreme right-wing party for that."

Merz, in his interview with the German public broadcaster ZDF, said his party had to acknowledge the AfD's electoral successes, but added "in the local parliaments, we have to look for ways to jointly shape the city, the state, the district."

This resulted in fierce criticism from outside and inside the party, especially since the CDU had adopted a resolution in 2018 saying it would not cooperate with either the hard-left Die Linke (The Left) party or the AfD.

Scholz was asked whether the situation in the Thuringian state parliament, where the AfD has strong support and recently won a district council election for the first time, is a problem.

"The real problem is that the AfD is getting so much support - from voters who support the party's extremist goals, but also from those who actually find these goals wrong, but want to express their concerns or protest with their vote," Scholz said.

The goal must be to win back these voters, he said.