German conservative Friedrich Merz, expected to become chancellor next year, said he was ready to work with the National Rally (RN) if it were to form a government, following the break in the European Parliament for France’s far-right party . with the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The RN came first in the first round of the early legislative election last Sunday (June 30). And if these good results are confirmed in the second round being organized this Sunday (July 7), President Emmanuel Macron could be forced to appoint a far-right prime minister.
On the German side, Friedrich Merz, the head of the conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), is leading the polls ahead of next year’s election. And if he becomes chancellor, the latter explained to the press on Wednesday (3 July) that he would try to cooperate with the French government, regardless of its composition.
“It is important that we always reach out to Paris and make proposals”he emphasized.
While some fear that a far-right government in France could cripple the Franco-German couple, Friedrich Merz expressed cautious optimism about maintaining relations between the two countries and welcomed the expulsion of the AfD from the ranks of Identity and Democracy (ID ) welcome the group. in the European Parliament.
Asked about the future of Franco-German relations should the RN come to power, Friedrich Merz declared: “If the ID group had not excluded the AfD, I would have answered your question differently. »
“In light of Marine Le Pen’s decision to exclude German MPs from the AfD […]it seems quite clear to me that a dividing line has been drawn. he added. “Perhaps this will make cooperation between Germany and France a little easier.”
After several scandals hit the AfD ahead of the European elections, including accusations of links to Russia and China, Marine Le Pen lobbied for the party to be expelled from the ID group.
Friedrich Merz’s overture to the French far-right comes after the latter suggested before the European Parliament elections that the sanitary cordon around the far-right party Fratelli d’Italia (European Conservatives and Reformists, CRE) by Giorgia Meloni was out of date.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party, SPD/European Socialists and Democrats) for his part explained that he wanted Marine Le Pen to be defeated.
Red lines
However, the CDU has defined some red lines if the RN wants to cooperate with Berlin. A far-right government in France should therefore respect European institutions, such as the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Gunther Krichbaum, a party member of parliament specializing in European affairs, explained to Euractiv.
Friedrich Merz also stated that attempts by certain leaders of the Republicans (LR), a member movement like the CDU of the European People’s Party (EPP), to ally with the RN were “regrettable”.
According to the German politician, it is still necessary to define the terms of cooperation with far-right governments, stating that “[l’isolement]is clearly not sustainable in the long term..
