Merkel: Conservatives siding with far right in election bad for democracy
“This event is inexcusable and so the result must be reversed,” Merkel told a news conference during a visit to South Africa
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, February 5, 2020. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Wednesday - when a state premier was elected with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and her conservatives - was a bad day for democracy and the outcome needed to be undone.
"This event is inexcusable and so the result must be reversed," Merkel told a news conference during a visit to South Africa.
The election of Thomas Kemmerich, a little-known liberal Free Democrat (FDP) in the eastern state of Thuringia, was the first in which a state premier won with the support of the AfD, shattering the post-war consensus among established parties of shunning the far right.
