German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has denied that a surge in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is because of squabbling among the three-way governing coalition.
Lindner is head of the pro-business FDP which is the junior partner in the coalition along with the Greens and Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD).
A row in the coalition over a new heating bill has gone on for months and now Germany's top court has put a hold on the legislation, all while the opposition AfD has been rocketing in the polls.
Taking the Bavarian Christian Social Union's (CSU) votes away from nationwide sister party the Christian Democrats (CDU), the AfD was top of a national opinion poll with 21% at the weekend.
But Lindner told broadcaster ARD late on Wednesday that if the government had rushed through the heating bill, it could have been worse.
"Having the heating bill debated and fixed now ...will contribute to making the AfD wilt again," he said.
Meanwhile, the AfD - which reminds many Germans of the fascist Nazi party which started World War II and the Holocaust - is being backed by 34% of voters in the east German state of Thuringia, far ahead of any other single party, according to a poll by broadcaster MDR.
Lindner said investors give a wide berth to areas where the AfD is particularly strong, calling it "the greatest risk" for regions in the former communist East where the far-right party is popular.
