Alice Weidel, leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, has welcomed Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz's failure to be elected chancellor in the first round of the Bundestag.
The AfD leader described Merz's failure to be elected chancellor as "clear evidence of the collapse of the coalition." She said the CDU/CSU-SPD alliance lacks public support and is built on weak foundations.
Weidel called on Merz to abandon his idea of becoming chancellor and pave the way for new elections.
The party also said that "it is unacceptable to come to power with such fraud" and that Merz was "paying the price for his manipulations."
The AfD stressed that Merz had not kept his party's campaign promises and had softened his political stance for the sake of the coalition.
