The leading candidate, Friedrich Merz, a conservative who has adopted many of the AfD’s hard-line positions on immigration, used his closing statement of the debate to promise his voters that he would never allow the AfD into his government. Under him, he said, the firewall would hold.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday launched forceful attacks on Romania's decision to cancel its presidential election in December. Vance said the cancellation meant Romania does not share American values,

Concern is growing over the far-right Alternative for Germany party’s rise ahead of the German election. Its U.S. supporters include Elon Musk and JD Vance.

In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio due to be broadcast on Sunday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Vance's remarks as highly unusual, adding that Germany had a firewall against extreme right-wing parties for a good reason, citing Germany's past under National Socialism.

Vance said election cancellation meant Romania does not share US values while Musk labelled chief judge of country's top court a 'tyrant' Bllionaire Elon Musk and US Vice-President J.D. Vance on Thursday launched forceful attacks on Romania's decision to cancel its presidential election in December.