Political Ash Wednesday
Spahn accuses AfD of sham employment - Friedrich Merz slams AfD, Greens, and Left Party in fiery political attack
The far-right AfD party is facing accusations of nepotism. But for the leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, that's not the only issue.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU/CSU faction, accused the Alternative for Germany (AfD) of cronyism and sham employment. "Does anyone really believe all those people they've hired are actually working? I don't," Merz declared at the CDU's traditional Ash Wednesday political rally in Thuringia. He argued the problem went beyond nepotism, calling it outright "fake jobs." Turning toward the AfD, he added, "They're wannabe patriots."
The AfD is currently under fire after reports that some of its lawmakers have hired relatives of other AfD MPs as staff. German parliamentary rules already prohibit legislators from employing their own family members, partners, or ex-partners at taxpayer expense. However, the regulations do not address the hiring of such individuals in the offices of other MPs.
In his speech, Merz also took aim at the Left Party and the Greens. He described Berlin's Left Party as "a bizarre mix of the old East German SED and the new Hamas." The Greens, he claimed, suffer from "a longing for a world outside reality."
He criticized the Greens in the European Parliament for voting to refer the EU-Mercosur trade deal with South American nations to the European Court of Justice for review. "If you're helping extremists secure a majority in the EU Parliament," he said, "you should just keep quiet here in Germany."
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