“I believe that we live in a time when it is all about attitude and convictions – do not make false compromises, not even a little bit,” she said at the Saar-CDU state party conference on Friday in Neunkirchen.
According to a report in Die Welt, Merkel said nationalism would lead to war and “endless suffering”. She said contemporary witnesses who had experienced the “endless suffering” of the Second World War would soon no longer be alive. Only then “perhaps for the first time it would show whether we have really learned from history”.
Germany could represent its interests only within the EU, stressed the CDU party leader. “And that’s why this Europe must be protected, maintained and developed.” According to the Chancellor, there are “a few basic questions that need to be answered quite clearly”.
It starts with the idea that it would be much nicer to be alone and not compromise, she said. “Then come prejudices. Then prejudices are pronounced. And the prejudices that are being uttered will eventually become deeds. That’s why I can only say: defend the base [against nationalism].”
But support for the country’s ruling parties is dwindling. Germany’s latest Deutschlandtrend survey showed on Friday that Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) as well as the Social Democrats (SPD) are now both at historical lows. Only 39 percent currently backed the Merkel government, down one point from last week.
According to the poll carried out by public broadcaster ARD, only 25 percent of Germans would vote for the CDU if federal elections were held this Sunday.
The poll showed that the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Germany’s second most popular party with 16 percent, would beat the struggling SPD currently at 14 percent.
The far-left Greens have seen their fortunes rising with their highest result since September 2011, at 19 percent.
Despite Merkle’s warnings, the ARD survey also revealed that 47 percent of Germans believe that the rise of new parties was good for democratic debate in the country.