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Friedrich Merz
Friedrich Merz
Chancellor, Germany
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FULL REMARKS: Chancellor Merz Accuses AfD of Siding With Russia as Germany’s Parliament Erupts |AC1B

📅 Sep 09, 2026 DRM News 29 MIN 1806 VIEWS 19 SEGMENTS · 2 SPEAKERS
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz fiercely confronted Alice Weidel and the AfD during the 2027 budget debate, calling the party a “destructive force” that seeks to destabilise Germany. Merz defended continued support for Ukraine, accused the AfD of siding with Russia and described its “remigration” policy as a synonym for ethnic cleansing. He also defended his government’s economic reforms. For more details, watch our story and subscribe to our channel, DRM News. ‘You Want to Destabilise Germany’: Merz Launches Blistering Attack on AfD ‘A Destructive Force’: Merz Tears Into Weidel and AfD Duri...

What Friedrich Merz said

Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.

Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany, addressed the Bundestag, accusing the AfD of siding with Russia and undermining democracy. He criticized AfD leader Alice Weidel for not condemning a planned attack on Leipzig Airport on August 4th and for supporting Russian disinformation campaigns. Merz defended his government's support for Ukraine, stating that no one has threatened Russia and that democracy is the real threat to Putin's regime. He highlighted Germany's 1.3% economic growth in 2026, promised 100 billion euros over eight years for civil protection, and defended his handling of forest fires. Merz admitted past mistakes in energy policy, including the premature shutdown of nuclear power plants, but affirmed plans for gas-fired power plants and secure gas supplies. He announced a task force on AI strategy, criticized the AfD's 'remigration' concept as ethnic cleansing, and called for education reforms and a renewed prosperity promise for younger generations.

Key takeaways

  1. Merz accused the AfD of siding with Russia and failing to condemn the August 4th attack on Leipzig Airport, calling it a 'grotesque reversal of perpetrator and victim.'
  2. Germany achieved 1.3% economic growth in 2026, exceeding Merz's personal forecast of over 1% for next year.
  3. The federal government promised German states 100 billion euros, with 8 billion euros annually, for civil protection and disaster response.
  4. Merz admitted serious mistakes in energy policy, including the wrong sequence of shutting down nuclear power plants before reserve capacities were available.
  5. Merz called the AfD's 'remigration' concept a synonym for ethnic cleansing by origin and skin color, warning it would cripple the crafts sector.

Numbers and commitments

FigureWhat it refers toTypeAt
56% Voters in Saxony who did not choose the AfD metric 0:20
100 billion euros Special fund for investments and climate protection promised to German states commitment 7:45
8 billion euros every year Annual allocation for civil protection, population protection, and disaster protection commitment 7:45
1.3% Economic growth for the year 2026 metric 10:24
over 1% Merz's personal forecast for next year's growth guidance 10:24
45 years Years of work and pension contributions for a specific pension reform discussion other 10:24
80 years Years Germany has lived in freedom, peace, and prosperity other 25:00

Chapters

  1. 0:00AfD election result and electoral fraud accusation
  2. 2:02Ukraine support and Russia threat
  3. 4:09Leipzig Airport attack and cybersecurity
  4. 7:45Civil protection and forest fires
  5. 10:24Economic growth and reforms
  6. 14:41Energy policy and gas supply
  7. 16:01AI strategy and crafts sector
  8. 18:38Remigration and migration policy
  9. 20:08Education and PISA study
  10. 25:00Prosperity promise and future vision
Bundestag President 0:03 ↗
On behalf of the Federal Government, the Chancellor now has the floor, Mr. Friedrich Merz. Please proceed.
Friedrich Merz 0:20 ↗
Madam President, dear colleagues, yes, Ms. Weidel, today you can barely walk for joy, but you have achieved a remarkable election result in Saxony-Anhalt in every respect, and no one can accuse you of having concealed the intentions you attach to it. But I would like to point out that your actual electoral goal in Saxony-Anhalt was to win the majority of the seats. You did not achieve that. 56% of the voters in Saxony did not choose you, ladies and gentlemen. And the polling stations had not even been closed for six hours.
Then you called on your lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt to commit the first electoral fraud, when you told him that he should look for a majority, even though he had made the electoral promise to govern only with the absolute majority of the seats. Ms. Weidel, yes, it could even be more than just a happy coincidence of fate that you did not achieve exactly this electoral goal. The voters have spoken quite clearly. They have also given us, and me, a clear message. But you do not have the absolute majority, and you will not achieve it in Germany either. Nowhere in Germany will you get the majorities with this policy.
You are and you remain, Ms. Weidel, a destructive force. And how far that goes, you have just made clear again in your contribution on Ukraine. Ladies and gentlemen, for four and a half years, for four and a half years, this country has been fighting for survival, and no one, yes, no one, no one has threatened Russia...

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APA, MLA, BibTeX
APA

Merz, F. (2026, September 9). FULL REMARKS: Chancellor Merz Accuses AfD of Siding With Russia as Germany’s Parliament Erupts |AC1B [Interview transcript]. DRM News. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958982/

MLA

Friedrich Merz. "FULL REMARKS: Chancellor Merz Accuses AfD of Siding With Russia as Germany’s Parliament Erupts |AC1B." DRM News, 9 Sep. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958982/.

BibTeX 
@misc{merz2026_2958982,
  author       = {Friedrich Merz},
  title        = {FULL REMARKS: Chancellor Merz Accuses AfD of Siding With Russia as Germany’s Parliament Erupts |AC1B},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, DRM News. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {sep},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958982/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}