Merz says he will defeat AfD and warns of a changed world

(Patria) - Chancellor Friedrich Merz promised on Friday not to allow the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) to "destroy" Germany and told his conservative colleagues to prepare for a new, raw climate of great power competition, Reuters reported.

Merz's message at the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) conference in Stuttgart reiterated views he expressed at last week's Munich Security Conference, saying "the rules-based order we knew no longer exists".

He also called for economic reforms and rejection of antisemitism and the AfD, which is targeting its first regional election victory this year.

"We will not allow these people from the so-called Alternative for Germany to destroy our country," he told party delegates, who gave former Chancellor Angela Merkel a standing ovation on her first visit to the conference since leaving office in 2021.

Merz, who is trailing significantly in polls ahead of a series of regional (state) elections this year, said he accepted criticism that the reforms he announced during last year's election campaign had been slower than initially communicated.

"I openly admit that perhaps, after the change of government, we did not make it clear enough quickly enough that we would not be able to achieve this enormous reform effort overnight," he said.

He avoided criticizing his center-left Social Democratic coalition partners and pledged to continue efforts to reduce bureaucracy, lower energy costs, and encourage investment, saying economic prosperity is key to Germany's security.

He also promised further welfare state reforms and said new proposals for pension system reform would be presented, following a rebellion by younger members of his own party in a fierce parliamentary battle last year.

Merz's speech was met with about ten minutes of applause as delegates showed unity, and he was re-elected party leader with 91% of the vote, avoiding any potentially awkward display of internal dissatisfaction.

Among other things, the party conference is expected to discuss a proposal to block access to social media platforms for children under 16. However, any legislation would take time as, under the German system, state governments have primary responsibility for media regulation.

Elections begin next month in the western states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, before another round of elections later in the year, one of them in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD hopes to win its first state election.