Europe Asia News

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the CDU retained its position as the leading party in the regional elections in Lower Saxony despite the rise of the AfD.

Referring to the situation of the far right, Tajani said, "On the far-right front — unlike the success they achieved in Saxony-Anhalt, which fueled the impression that they could challenge the federal leadership of Forza Italia's EPP ally — there was no significant breakthrough here."

Commenting on what the election results revealed, Tajani said, "This shows two facts: as I have noted before, local election results in regions such as Saxony-Anhalt, which was part of former East Germany, cannot be regarded as a direct indicator even for the rest of Germany, let alone for Europe as a whole; and there is a limit to support for extremist movements, while the real bulwark against these movements is the moderate camp — far more than the Left."

Sharing his criticism of the AfD's stance, Tajani emphasized, "Considering that AfD figures — as I have pointed out before — are Italy's greatest enemies, this is a positive development. It is no coincidence that on Saturday in Termeno, a member of the AfD's federal leadership stated that 'South Tyrol is not Italy.' Unfortunately, in the coming weeks we should expect anti-Italian rhetoric from German extremist groups to rise again."

Tajani concluded his statement by saying, "Anyone who is patriotic and loves Italy should wish the CDU a long and successful future."