BERLIN, Aug 30 (Reuters) \u2013 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that a victory for the far-right AfD party in next week\u2019s regional election in Saxony-Anhalt would damage the eastern state and deter foreign companies from investing there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot imagine international investors attending a ground-breaking ceremony with an AfD Minister-President to set up new plants and establish new businesses in Saxony-Anhalt,\u201d he told ARD public television in an interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, that is a decision for the voters in Saxony-Anhalt to make. The state will suffer considerable damage if things turn out as we now fear they might,\u201d Merz said.<\/p>\n
The anti-immigrant AfD or Alternative for Germany party currently holds a strong lead in opinion polls, on 42% compared with 22% for Merz\u2019s conservative Christian Democrats, according to a recent poll.<\/p>\n
If that level of support remains unchanged until the election on September 6, it would probably leave the AfD just shy of an absolute majority of seats in state parliament. But the outcome of the vote could depend on whether smaller parties clear the 5% entry threshold needed to get into parliament.<\/p>\n
All the main parties have said they will not enter a coalition with the AfD, meaning that the sitting Christian Democrat state premier Sven Schulze may seek to build a coalition of his own or form a minority government under some form of cooperation agreement with other parties.<\/p>\n
Merz, who has repeatedly ruled out cooperation with both the AfD and the far-left Left party, declined to say what the CDU would do if the AfD fell short of an absolute majority. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will assess the situation in the light of the election result, and we will do everything we can to prevent Saxony-Anhalt from falling into the hands of the radicals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by James Mackenzie, Editing by Louise Heavens)<\/p>\n