Merkel party colleague open to power-sharing deal with far-right AFD

A REGIONAL politician from Angela Merkel’s party has become the first to break a taboo by saying he is ready to go into coalition with the nationalist Alternative for Germany party (AFD).

Ingo Senftleben, leader of Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) in the state of Brandenburg, said he was prepared to open talks with the AFD after regional elections next year.

The AFD became the first nationalist party to sit in the German parliament since the Sixties after it came third in last year’s general election. It held seats in all but two of the country’s 16 regional parliaments. So far, all the mainstream parties have refused to enter talks or share power with the farright AFD.

But Mr Senftleben said he was prepared to consider a deal with the party if it enabled him to win power.

“If we have the opportunity after the state election, I will open talks with all parties,” he told Welt newspaper. “I do not rule out discussions with the AFD.” Brandenburg is one of Germany’s smaller states, with a population of just 2.5 million. But if Mr Senftleben did open talks with the AFD, it could cause a crisis for Mrs Merkel and be seen as a major breakthrough for the party.

Mr Senftleben was immediately slapped down by the national CDU leadership, in a phone call from Annegret Kramp-karrenbauer, the party chairman, who is widely seen as Mrs Merkel’s chosen successor.

“We are sticking to a clear demarcation both on the right and to the left, which I made clear to the Brandenburg CDU leader,” Ms Kramp-karrenbauer told reporters.