German opposition leader Friedrich Merz has ruled out cooperation with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), days after the far-right party stunned the country with record results in two state elections. “There will be no coalition with the AfD, no cooperation with the AfD,” Merz told dpa in an interview conducted on Tuesday. Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) narrowly beat the AfD in the eastern state of Saxony in Sunday’s vote, but could only finish second to the AfD in neighbouring Thuringia. The result marks the first time since the defeat of the Nazis in World War II that a far-right party has…