Angela clearly warned them: "Don't behave like a rabbit in front of a snake"

In a TV Phoenix broadcast, she warned her fellow Christian Democrats and Social Democrats not to behave “like a rabbit frozen in front of a snake” in the face of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) and not to let it “pull them by the nose.”

“Mainstream parties must convincingly promote their policies and thus highlight the differences compared to the AfD,” Angela Merkel said on Wednesday evening.

Regarding parties that the European Union finds unacceptable, that maintain a completely different stance toward Russia, and that do not defend liberal democracy, “this is perfectly clear; I cannot cooperate with them,” she added.

According to her, Christian Democrats and Social Democrats have arguments to persuade citizens, and “seeking a majority with the help of the AfD is prohibited simply because of how they define themselves.”

Merkel led Germany through four terms, the first beginning around 20 years ago.

Earlier this year, during the campaign for the February snap elections, she criticized the current Chancellor and party colleague Friedrich Merz for pushing a migration-related decision through the Bundestag with votes from the AfD.

She now said she does not intend to comment on every debate, and slightly softened her January criticism, noting that it was “a rather unique case.”