Germany's Merz attacks AfD in parliament after far

Key Points:

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the AfD party as a "destructive force" and accused its migration policy of amounting to "ethnic cleansing" of skilled workers during a parliamentary debate following the AfD's strong election performance in Saxony-Anhalt.
• The AfD won nearly 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, significantly outperforming Merz's Christian Democrats, who saw their vote share halved, though the AfD fell three seats short of an outright majority.
• AfD leader Alice Weidel criticized Merz's coalition government as a failure and claimed the election results signaled the end of his leadership, while Merz insisted the AfD would not gain power in Germany nationally.
• The AfD, labeled "right-wing extremist" by German intelligence, has proposed a "deportation and remigration" policy targeting irregular migrants, which Merz warned would disrupt essential services like care homes and hospitals.
• US President Donald Trump praised the AfD's election success, linking it to opposition against Germany's immigration policies, while a planned phone call between Trump and Merz to mark the 9/11 anniversary was postponed without explanation.