German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during an election rally for Germany's federal election in Fulda, Germany, on Aug. 25, 2017. Germans will elect a new federal parliament on Sept. 24. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
BERLILN, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out any forms of cooperation between her party and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the latter is likely to enter the Bundestag in the upcoming federal elections.
"It is quite clear that the AfD cannot be a partner for us in any form of cooperation. We must try to win back every single person," Merkel told the Welt am Sonntag.
"This requires patience with people's concerns and the attempt to address them repeatedly with concrete solutions to specific problems," said Merkel, who is also the candidate of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) for the next chancellery.
As the German federal elections scheduled on Sept. 24 are approaching, the AfD is likely to win over 5 percent of votes and thus reach the threshold for entering the Bundestag, or the Federal Parliament, for the first time after the WWII as a far-right party.
According to the latest opinion polls, the anti-migration and anti-euro AfD won around 10 percent of support rates from respondents, becoming the third runner on the support rate list.
The CDU and its Bavaria sister party Christian Socialist Union, led the opinion polls with around 39 percent, while the major opposition party, the Social Democratic Party led by Martin Schulz, came as the runner-up with about 22 percent.
AfD gained popularity as Merkel decided in 2015 to open Germany's borders to over 1 million refugees, however, the German chancellor told Welt am Sonntag that not all people agree with their refugee policy, but she will not ease the desire to convince the doubters that it was right and responsive to the great global challenge.
"We can neither push ourselves off nor cut off, but we must fight the causes of refugee and migration, "said Merkel.
Merkel on Saturday encountered fierce protest in an election campaign rally in Quedlinburg in eastern Germany's state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the anti-foreigner sentiment is obviously strong.
Although Merkel was interrupted for several times by whistles and jeers by thousands of protestors, Merkel made it clear in her speech that refugees were welcome in Germany and the year like 2015 would not repeat.
