Merz leans into far-right messaging to counter AfD

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz doubled down on controversial remarks made last week that suggested the country has too many migrants, as the conservative politician seeks to regain the initiative over the far right.

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“I have nothing to take back,” he said on Oct 20 when asked about comments he made about how cities in Germany look and why the government needs to step up deportations.

The opposition Green Party and members of his Social Democratic Party (SPD) coalition partner denounced the remarks as racist and discriminatory.

On Oct 19, around 1,000 people demonstrated against Mr Merz in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

While the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) did not clarify what he meant last week by using the term “Stadtbild” or cityscape, he went further after a CDU leadership meeting, saying there were growing concerns about how migration was affecting safety, especially for women.