'He just can't hack it' - AfD leader Chrupalla attacks German Chancellor Merz with venom

In the recent editon of the "summer interview" series of German public broadcaster ZDF, filmed in Görlitz, the parliamentary constituency of the AfD co-chairman, Tino Chrupalla sharply criticised Friedrich Merz's government policy. "You can see in his government work: he just can't manage it," said Chrupalla on the Federal Chancellor's Middle East policy, despite the AfD's support of halting the export of weapons to war and crisis zones. And, as ZDF journalist Wulf Schmiese pointed out several times, the fact that the AfD was fully supportive of the Chancellor's specific decision to restrict arms deliveries to Israel.

On the war in Ukraine, Tino Chrupalla said on ZDF that Chancellor Merz should have made direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Because he had not done so, Friedrich Merz was "at the cat's table" in the talks organised by US President Donald Trump.

'Russia not an enemy'

Chrupalla said that he did not see Russia as an enemy. "It is precisely this war rhetoric that we must put an end to," explained the AfD politician, who confirmed that he himself had done civilian service in place of serving in the armed forces for his, then still mandatory, time of national service.

When asked about his party's ability to form a coalition, the East German Chrupalla was confident: "In my constituency, we are just short of 50 per cent. (...) Whether we need a coalition partner at all remains to be seen", he said, adding that his party's "Project 40" would play an important role in any elections in Saxony. The next ones for the state assembly are scheduled for 2029

The interview with Tino Chrupalla was broadcast on Sunday evening, but had been pre-recorded after the interview with the co-chair of the parliamentary group, Alice Weidel, was massively disrupted by activists.