German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's attacks on the #AfD are "dirty tactics to retain power" linked to his substantial loss of political capital, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky told TASS. He said #Merz is "a step away from agony" after the Leipzig #drone provocation failed, adding that the rise of the AfD results from Merz's "short-sighted" Russophobic policy and economic miscalculations.