I want to make it clear again that we will not do it (cooperate), says Merz in the first televised debate against the Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is running for re-election.
Germany has been marked by large demonstrations in recent weeks, after Merz seemed to break with the long-standing practice of completely excluding the far-right party AFD from German politics, by seeking the party's support in immigration reforms.
In the debate, Scholz accuses his opponent of having broken his promise by accepting AFD's support to push through a motion against immigration in parliament.
Therefore, one cannot be sure how it will look in the future, when things become difficult again, says Scholz.
Merz has previously claimed that he is trying to take over the immigration issue from AFD, and that the party is still a political enemy.
