Germany’s Merz vows to fight ‘extremism’ after AfD, far-left election gains

Far-right and far-left parties gain ground in local elections as Merz’s approval rating sinks.Published On 7 Oct 20267 Oct 2026Chancellor ⁠Friedrich Merz has hit out at what he called political “extremism” in Germany after stinging defeats in a local election to the far-right Alternative for ‌Germany party.“This is a task for ⁠our society as ⁠a whole, and it is ⁠one I intend ⁠to play ⁠my part in,” he said on Wednesday at an ‌event in Berlin.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Russia’s nuclear plants are ageing. Who will pay to dismantle them?list 2 of 3Russia hits Kyiv bridge as Germany’s Merz visits Ukraine’s capitallist 3 of 3Germany’s Merz in Kyiv announces $1.5B in aid, urges Putin to end warend of listMerz said “extremism” was forcefully making its way into the country’s parliaments, a day after a member of the far-right Alternative for ‌Germany (AfD) was elected president of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt and the Left Party won out in Berlin’s state election on Sunday.“Anyone who casts their vote for ⁠the AfD is ⁠playing the extremists’ game and undermining credibility,” ⁠Merz said. “In ⁠any case, this is incompatible with the values of ‌my party, the CDU [Ch...