Brandmauer

Germany's Union parties are reaffirming their nationwide 'firewall' against cooperation with the far right. In Magdeburg, however, the CDU cannot rule out that votes from its own ranks helped elect a politician from a party classified as confirmed right-wing extremist by the domestic intelligence service to the top office of the state parliament. The case is drawing attention as it contrasts with the party's official stance and has been picked up by commentators pointing to the gap between rhetoric and practice in Saxony-Anhalt.

German-language social media users are sharing a political cartoon by Kostas Koufogiorgos accusing Bavaria's minister-president Markus Söder of prioritising attacks on the left over opposition to the far right. Posts use hashtags calling for a ban procedure against the AfD and for a cordon between democratic parties and extremists, framing Söder's rhetoric as divisive and irresponsible.