Debate over legality of blocking AfD events

In Germany on 22 July 2026, the CDU and other parties debated how to deal with the AfD. Kretschmer called for talks with all parties, saying "we must talk to everyone who wants to talk". The SPD attacked him over his remarks on the "Brandmauer" (firewall against cooperation with the AfD), and a CDU voice said "we will not open ourselves to the AfD, that is a broad consensus in the CDU". WELT wrote that the Union is struggling over its course in dealing with the AfD. The Frankfurter Allgemeine wrote about the legality and legitimacy of blockades of AfD events.

Merz and Söder proposed Frei to succeed Spahn as head of the Union parliamentary group. The Federal Constitutional Court dismissed the AfD's Corona lawsuit. WELT also wrote about Sebastian Schmidtke, whom it described as a repeatedly convicted neo-Nazi with access to leading AfD politicians.