Top German court backs far-right party over Merkel comments

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s highest court has backed a far-right party’s complaint against comments by former Chancellor Angela Merkel that the election of a state governor with the party’s support must not be allowed to stand. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that the comments the then-chancellor made in 2020 violated Alternative for Germany’s right to equality of opportunities. Thomas Kemmerich’s surprise election as Thuringia state governor with the help of both Alternative for Germany and the mainstream center-right was a major embarrassment for Merkel’s party. She called it “inexcusable” during a news conference in South Africa. The German supreme court found that Merkel had “negatively qualified” AfD and so “influenced the competition of political parties.”