Circles: Merz warns against advice from the sidelines in the East

In view of the difficult debate on forming a government following the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia, CDU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz is appealing to his own ranks for confidence in the CDU's conduct of negotiations in the states. According to participants, the CDU chairman asked the members of the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag not to give the negotiators in Saxony and Thuringia any "advice from the sidelines". At the same time, he emphasized that the CDU had nothing in common with the founder of the alliance, Sahra Wagenknecht, in terms of foreign and defence policy.

Obviously with a view to the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, and the CDU state leader of Thuringia, Mario Voigt, Merz told MPs after these statements: "Give these two the confidence to lead the talks. There will be no overstepping of boundaries from the CDU's point of view." The talks on forming a government could take a very long time. To great applause, Merz emphasized: "There will be no talks or cooperation with the AfD, it must remain that way."

In Thuringia, a coalition of CDU, SPD and BSW would have 44 of 88 parliamentary seats and could also be dependent on votes from the Left Party to pass laws without AfD support. In Saxony, the CDU, BSW and SPD could theoretically form a coalition. BSW foreign policy expert Sevim Dagdelen told the Berliner Zeitung at the weekend about the negotiations in Saxony and Thuringia: "We want a coalition agreement to stipulate that the state government is against further arms deliveries to Ukraine, in favor of more diplomatic efforts by the federal government and against the US missile plans. A clear reversal is needed here."