German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has accused the Alternative for German of supporting Russia and advocating anti-migration policies that were tantamount to "ethnic cleansing".
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that → accuse → cleansing
Merz was addressing the German parliament following his party's bruising defeat against the AfD, which surged to victory in an election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on a platform to curb migration and restore ties with Moscow.
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which → address → Moscow
The AfD said Merz was deliberately mischaracterising its position as a way of demonizing the party, and said its policies were legal.
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Merz → say → policies
Merz was reacting to Sunday's election loss and his own record-low approval ratings.
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Merz → react → loss
He has also brushed off suggestions that he might resign.
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he → brush → suggestions
"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," Merz said, in answer to an earlier speech by AfD co-leader Alice Weidel.
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Merz → advocate → Weidel
Merz took aim at the AfD's calls for ending support for Ukraine, accusing the party of being "steadfastly on Russia’s side" even after a planned drone attack at a German airport last month that Merz said was carried out by Moscow.
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Merz → take → Moscow
Russia denies this.
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Russia → deny → this
The AfD has been classified as right-wing extremist by the local office of Germany's domestic intelligence service.
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AfD → classify → service
In its election programme in Saxony-Anhalt, it advocated for "remigration" policies to speed up deportations of rejected asylum seekers and foreign criminals and incentivise people to leave voluntarily.
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it → advocate → people
It also wants the children of refugees to be taught in segregated classes.
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children → want → classes
"By ‘remigration,’ the AfD means the consistent deportation - in accordance with the law - of all foreigners required to leave the country; nothing else.
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AfD → mean → country
Chancellor Merz knows this, too," AfD lawmaker Bernd Baumann said in an email to Reuters.
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Baumann → know → Reuters
"Nevertheless, attributing ethnic cleansing to the AfD as a political goal is a desperate and sordid attempt to maintain a ‘firewall’ through fabricated demonization.
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attributing → attribute → demonization
Merz said forcing migrants to leave would create a skill shortage that would backfire.
"
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that → say → shortage
Not a single nursing home will function.
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home → function → ?
Not a single hospital in Germany will remain operational, and not a single restaurant will be able to stay in business - that would be the result of their remigration policy," he said.
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he → remain → policy
Many representatives of minority groups have expressed alarm over the rise of the AfD.
Eva Umlauf, a survivor of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz and president of the International Auschwitz Committee, told Reuters she was "appalled" by Sunday's election result.
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she → express → result
The AfD, founded as a eurosceptic party during the euro zone crisis in 2013, rejects comparisons with the Nazi Party.
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AfD → found → Party
However, opponents accuse the party of downplaying Germany's Nazi past, pointing to a comment by one of its leaders in 2018 who described the period as "just bird shit in 1,000 years of successful German history".
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who → accuse → history
Three days on from the election, it was still not clear who would form a government in Saxony-Anhalt.
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who → form → Anhalt
While the AfD won most votes, it fell short of a majority.
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it → win → majority
Mainstream parties refuse to go into coalition with the AfD in a policy known as the "firewall", but the AfD could come to an arrangement with a small leftist partythat shares its hostility to mass immigration.
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AfD → refuse → immigration
In another line of attack, Merz accused the AfD of breaking its word that it would only govern if it won an absolute majority.
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it → accuse → majority
"You failed to achieve your actual electoral goal of securing a majority of seats in Saxony-Anhalt," Merz said.
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Merz → fail → Anhalt
"56% of voters in Saxony-Anhalt did not vote for you," he added.
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he → vote → you
The Aporia
