Merz likens AfD 'remigration' push to ethnic cleansing in Bundestag

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has launched a blistering attack on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), accusing the party of prioritising Russian interests over Germany's and of endorsing migration policies he equated with "ethnic cleansing."

Speaking in the Bundestag on Wednesday, Merz responded to the AfD's decisive victory in last weekend's state election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the party campaigned on a strongly anti-immigration platform. The result was a bruising setback for Merz's own party.

The Chancellor took specific aim at the AfD's use of the term "remigration," a concept often associated with the mass deportation of individuals of foreign origin. Merz argued that implementing such a policy would amount to discrimination based purely on ancestry and physical appearance.

"People with a migration background also work in the skilled trades," Merz said. "If what is being advocated here, namely 'remigration', were to become reality, it would be nothing other than a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin colour."

The AfD has not yet responded to the Chancellor's remarks. In the past, the party has dismissed accusations of extremism as scaremongering and an insult to its voter base.