What is the 'political firewall' against Germany's far-right AfD?

The political firewall against Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) serves as a metaphor for a strict boundary that safeguards democracy. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies individual AfD state associations as confirmed right-wing extremists, but the party as a whole has not yet been formally banned by the Federal Constitutional Court.

The term "political firewall" became widely used due to Friedrich Merz, who pledged to create a firewall against the AfD as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in December 2021. The CDU had previously adopted a resolution of incompatibility in 2018, rejecting coalitions or cooperation with both the AfD and the socialist Left Party.

However, in January 2025, the CDU's motion in the Bundestag calling for the rejection of asylum seekers received AfD support, leading to accusations that Merz breached the firewall policy. Critics argue that the firewall policy is permeable, as politicians from other parties have frequently voted alongside the AfD at local levels.

Critics warn that this normalization could make the AfD socially acceptable and spread to state or federal politics. Despite the firewall policy, AfD support continues to rise, particularly in eastern Germany. Some CDU politicians question the firewall's rationale and have called for repealing or revising the CDU's incompatibility resolution with the AfD.

The CDU and Chancellor Angela Merkel prefer to end debates about the firewall at the federal level, with Merz emphasizing that the party's resolution is fundamental and cannot be interpreted differently in different federal states.