Germany's Alternative for Germany has filed a criminal complaint against Chancellor Friedrich Merz after he described the party's remigration policy as effectively advocating ethnic cleansing. The dispute follows the AfD's decisive election victory in Saxony-Anhalt and comes amid an intensifying national debate over immigration, political legitimacy and attempts to restrict the party.
INR Report: Based on reporting by RT HERE.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has filed a criminal complaint against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after he accused the party of effectively advocating ethnic cleansing through its support for "remigration". The complaint follows a heated Bundestag debate and comes only days after the AfD secured 43.8 percent of the vote in the regional election in Saxony-Anhalt, leaving Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) a distant second with just over 17.2 percent.
According to RT, Merz told parliament that by promoting remigration, the AfD was essentially advocating "ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin color." The AfD parliamentary group responded by accusing the chancellor of defamation, arguing that his remarks went beyond constitutionally protected political speech. Stephan Brandner, secretary and legal counsel for the AfD parliamentary group, said Merz had made "baseless and repugnant remarks" directed not only against the party but also against millions of Germans who support it. Brandner said the chancellor had "crossed a line… in a way that carries criminal implications."
Remigration at Centre of Dispute
The political and legal argument centres on the meaning of "remigration", a term that has become increasingly prominent among right-wing political movements in Europe. RT describes it as generally referring to the return of criminal and "non-assimilated" immigrants and, more broadly, residents with a migrant background to their countries of origin.
Merz's characterisation places a considerably more serious interpretation on the policy. By using the term "ethnic cleansing", the chancellor effectively linked the AfD's position to forced removal based on ethnicity or origin. The AfD rejects that interpretation and has now sought legal action over the statement. Filing a criminal complaint does not establish that Merz has committed an offence, and the supplied source does not report that prosecutors have decided to bring charges.
The confrontation follows the AfD's strong performance in Saxony-Anhalt. Merz acknowledged after the election that the CDU had suffered its "most serious electoral defeat in decades." Despite the result, he said his government would "strengthen our political order and our firm anchoring in Europe," while attributing the CDU's poor performance in part to inadequate communication with voters.
READ MORE: German state could face EU fund freeze after AfD win
AfD's Own Language Draws Scrutiny
The dispute over remigration has also been intensified by comments from Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt. Responding to a journalist's question about reports that Israeli defence company Elbit Systems could establish a plant in Sangerhausen, Siegmund said the party did not "categorically demonize the production of defense equipment, because we will naturally need the appropriate tools for the subsequent remigration and deportation drive."
Siegmund added, "This is also in the interest of internal security, our own stability, and state defense." His explicit reference to a future "remigration and deportation drive" provides further context for the increasingly heated debate over what an AfD government would seek to implement. The supplied RT report does not establish the precise legal scope of such a policy, including whether it would apply only to people legally eligible for deportation or extend more broadly.
The political stakes are growing as the AfD's electoral support increases. RT describes the party as Germany's largest opposition faction and cites polling showing it with 28 percent national support. An INSA poll published by Bild in late August, according to RT, placed the governing CDU/CSU bloc at 20 percent and reported that 78 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with Merz's coalition government.
Calls to Ban the AfD Continue
The criminal complaint comes amid a parallel debate over whether the AfD itself should be prohibited. RT reports that several establishment political figures have called for the party to be banned on the grounds that it poses a threat to Germany's constitutional order and democracy.
In late August, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius of the Social Democratic Party and Baden-Württemberg Governor Cem Özdemir of the Greens argued that the AfD should be outlawed, according to RT. They reportedly cited concerns that its political positions call into question the "inviolability of human dignity" protected by Germany's constitution, particularly in relation to immigration.
The AfD is also under surveillance by German federal authorities, which classify the party as a "suspected right-wing extremist" entity, according to the RT report. Some regional AfD organisations have been subjected to wider monitoring. Against that background, the party's growing electoral support is creating an increasingly difficult political question for Germany, as attempts to contain the AfD institutionally are occurring alongside substantial gains for it at the ballot box.
READ MORE: Yes, the AfD victory signals a danger to democracy, but not the way they tell you
Does This Affect New Zealand?
Germany's confrontation has relevance to New Zealand because it highlights the tension democratic systems can face when arguments over immigration and national identity become arguments over the legitimacy of political parties themselves.
New Zealand's circumstances are substantially different from Germany's, but the underlying democratic principle remains relevant. Serious allegations against political parties and their leaders should be capable of being examined against evidence, while any attempt to restrict political participation requires transparent legal processes and a high evidential threshold.
The German case also illustrates how quickly political language can escalate. Merz says the AfD's remigration programme amounts to something much more serious than conventional immigration enforcement. The AfD says that description is defamatory. That disagreement has now moved beyond political rhetoric and into the legal system, where the complaint will have to be assessed on its merits.
For Germany, the larger issue will not disappear regardless of what happens to the complaint. The AfD has just secured 43.8 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, while its opponents continue to debate surveillance, institutional restrictions and even prohibition of the party.
The question confronting Germany is therefore increasingly fundamental: how should a democratic system respond when a party regarded by many within the political establishment as a threat to the constitutional order continues to attract a growing share of the electorate?
Source
RT, AfD files criminal complaint against Merz, published 11 September 2026:
https://www.rt.com/news/645498-afd-files-criminal-complaint-against-merz/
Independent reporting. Original context. Credited sources.