Escalation and refusal to shake hands "Don't make him dumber than he is!" - AfD politician takes on everyone on TV

It's not just on the subject of compulsory military service that the Left Party and AfD can't seem to find common ground. On "Markus Lanz", Beatrix von Storch and Ines Schwerdtner also engaged in a heated exchange when it came to the differences between their respective parties.

It is not only the SPD and the CDU/CSU that seem to be clashing violently on the subject of compulsory military service. After the SPD parliamentary group surprisingly spoke out against the lottery procedure and thus caused the agreement with the CDU/CSU to collapse, Markus Lanz wanted to know more about the position of the Left and AfD on Wednesday evening. He asked: "Where do you stand on this?"

Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner promptly replied: "We are against compulsory military service." According to the politician, reintroducing it would be "an absolute step backwards in terms of civilization". Instead, Schwerdtner advocated that "young people should be able to decide voluntarily whether they want to join the army or not". With regard to the lottery procedure, she added angrily: "This is now a kind of conscription through the back door."

AfD politician Beatrix von Storch did not entirely share this opinion. She began by explaining that her party had "always said" that "we want compulsory military service". However, von Storch added that this was not about defense against Russia and a deployment in Ukraine. "The AfD wants to strengthen national defense (...) by introducing general conscription. What we don't want is recruitment for a war against Russia," said the AfD politician. Ines Schwerdtner countered that this was "contradictory". She continued: "You don't actually have a meaningful peace policy position." Lanz also criticized the AfD for not having a clear line when it comes to compulsory military service.

The AfD representative then attacked the federal government head-on: "We have a Federal Chancellor who says we are no longer at war, but we are not at peace either," said von Storch. It looks "as if the Chancellor now wants to draw volunteers or non-volunteers by lot to send them to war in Ukraine".

She emphasized that the AfD "does not want to recruit against Russia".

Markus Lanz vigorously countered: "Nobody said we are recruiting people to send them to Ukraine. That is not the debate at hand! He (Merz) didn't say Russia."

But von Storch was not deterred: "Did he talk about Portugal or did he talk about South Africa? (...) It's absolutely clear what the Chancellor is talking about. Don't make him look more stupid than he is."

Lanz responded, visibly annoyed: "But you shouldn't do it either, please!"

Ines Schwerdtner: "Even my revolutionary friendliness ends at some point"

Markus Lanz wanted to know from Beatrix von Storch: "Is Putin a war criminal?" Instead of giving a clear answer, the politician responded vaguely: "I think he is a war criminal." She became clearer when she clearly positioned herself against further arms deliveries to Ukraine. A position also shared by the leader of the Left Party. Meanwhile, military expert Claudia Major pointed out: "If you both say no more arms deliveries, then you are de facto handing over Ukraine to a situation like the one that now prevails in the occupied territories - with rapes, (...) with deported children."

Things got similarly heated on "Markus Lanz" when it came to the omnipresent culture war between the Left Party and the AfD. In this context, Left Party leader Schwerdtner declared that she was refusing to shake Beatrix von Storch's hand because she stood for "inhuman politics". AfD politician Beatrix von Storch countered soberly: "Shaking hands is simply part of civilized interaction in our culture (...), but some people do it less than others."

Ines Schwerdtner shot back: "I always preach the policy of revolutionary friendliness in my party." But when it comes to "those who want to abolish our democracy, who advocate inhumane policies", she has reached "a limit". "Even my revolutionary friendliness ends at some point and that is with the AfD," says Schwerdtner.

Beatrix von Storch rages against Ines Schwerdtner: "This is what the Left Party representative says"

The ZDF presenter was visibly stunned: "That means we are obviously in a situation where we no longer even allow each other to shake hands?" Beatrix von Storch rejected any accusation and warned: "I think this is the beginning (...) of the refusal of discourse." Meanwhile, the leader of the Left Party countered vigorously: "You want to shoot people at the border, then you can't tell me that you're pursuing philanthropic policies!"

Beatrix von Storch responded with a laugh: "That's what the Left Party representative says!" When she made a connection to the SED in this context, Lanz asked with irritation: "The Mauermörderpartei is sitting there now?" The AfD politician promptly replied: "The Left Party is identical to the SED. It has changed its name, but it is the same party as those who 'protected' the Wall back then."

A statement that Ines Schwerdtner did not leave uncommented: "If we were to start at this level, I could also say that your grandfather was finance minister under Hitler." Lanz also lashed out at von Storch: "You have just complained that you are being called a Nazi (...) in the Bundestag and then you look to the right and say Mauermörderpartei! It's exactly the same game!"

Instead of buckling, however, Beatrix von Storch stood firm and said matter-of-factly: "That's a fact! How can you deny facts? A man is a man, a woman is a woman and the Left is (...) identical to the SED."