German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday that growing support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will not be an obstacle for providing further support for Ukraine.
The AfD has opposed military aid for Ukraine, and a number of AfD politicians have maintained ties with Russia. The party placed second in recent European Parliament elections with 15.9%, the AfD's best nationwide result to date and ahead of Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD).
"An overwhelming majority of citizens support parties that also agree that Ukraine must be supported," Scholz said on Tuesday at a joint press conference in Berlin with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"That applies to Germany, but it also applies when we look at the European Parliament as a whole," he added.
"Of course I am concerned for many reasons about the growth of right-wing populist and far-right parties in many European countries, here in Germany and sometimes even more so in other countries," Scholz said. "[It is] our task never to resign ourselves," he said.
He said there needs to be a broad consensus among political parties about supporting Germany's democratic institutions, social welfare state and market economy. Confidence is needed for the future, and Scholz said the war in Ukraine is understandably unsettling voters.
"In this respect, a smart, level-headed policy is also to provide the level of support for Ukraine that we are doing today," Scholz said.
Zelensky, meanwhile, warned of the danger of "pro-Russian populist slogans" from far-right politicians across the EU.
"This is not so much dangerous for Ukraine, because we are already in the most dangerous situation of all - we are at war. Pro-Russian radical slogans are dangerous for your country," Zelensky said.
