Merkel: Germany's far-right AfD growth not only due to refugee policy

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel said her 2015 refugee policy was one factor, but not the only reason, for the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Speaking in a Spiegel interview on Wednesday evening, Merkel noted that when she left office, the AfD polled at 11 to 12%, suggesting that migration played a role in the party's growth but that other causes also exist. She did not specify what those causes might be.

When Merkel allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees into Germany in 2015, the anti-immigration AfD was not represented in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament. By the 2021 federal election, the party had won 10.3% of the vote. Today, it polls between 24 and 27% and has overtaken Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives as the strongest party in some surveys.

Merkel was cautious about calls from the Social Democrats for a ban on the AfD. "I am not a lawyer, and I focus on the question of what can I do in dealing with democrats among themselves, in dealing with the problems at hand to limit the AfD's chances," she said.

Merkel also praised Merz's foreign policy moves during his first months in office. "As a citizen, I think what Merz has done so far is good," she said. "It is reassuring that Germany is once again engaging with charm and voice in Europe and the world."

Merkel, who formerly led the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, has previously criticized Merz for his handling of migration and for his conservative bloc pushing through a migration resolution in parliament with AfD votes.