Merz brands AfD remigration policy ethnic cleansing in Bundestag confrontation

A direct parliamentary confrontation

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz accused the far-right Alternative für Deutschland of promoting ethnic cleansing through its demand for mass remigration, turning a Bundestag budget debate on September 9 into a direct confrontation over the country’s political direction. The exchange came three days after the AfD won nearly 44 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, a result that weakened Merz’s Christian Democrats and intensified questions about the durability of Germany’s governing coalition.

The Guardian and Euronews independently reported that Merz argued the AfD’s remigration programme would divide society by origin and skin colour. He distinguished between people without a legal right to remain, whom the government says should be removed more efficiently, and immigrants who work and contribute to German society. His central economic argument was that sweeping removals would leave hospitals, care homes, restaurants and skilled trades without essential workers.

The AfD presses its advantage

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel used the debate to claim that voters had rejected business as usual and that Merz’s coalition had exhausted its mandate. The party fell three seats short of an absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt, but its state leadership is seeking support from other groups or individual legislators to form a government. Other parties’ refusal to cooperate remains the principal obstacle to an AfD-led administration.

Merz also attacked the AfD’s opposition to military assistance for Ukraine and accused it of providing political cover for Russian efforts to destabilise Germany. NATO’s secretary general and the European Commission president had jointly described the recent Leipzig incident as a Russian hybrid attack and expressed solidarity with Germany. That official assessment supports the security context of Merz’s criticism, although it does not establish that the AfD participated in any Russian operation.

Migration, labour and coalition risk

The confrontation exposes the pressure on mainstream parties to answer demands for tighter migration control without adopting collective removal policies. An official EU initiative approved in March seeks to address persistent labour shortages by matching non-EU jobseekers with employers, illustrating the wider economic dependence on managed migration. Germany’s debate is therefore not only about borders and identity but also about the workforce needed to sustain public services and industry.

The next test will be government formation in Saxony-Anhalt and two further German state elections this month. Merz must rebuild support while keeping his coalition together and maintaining the established barrier against cooperation with the AfD. The AfD, meanwhile, will try to convert its electoral result into executive authority. Wednesday’s clash was a genuinely new political development after the election: it clarified the chancellor’s line of attack and placed migration, Ukraine policy and Russian influence at the centre of the contest.