Germany's ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) have sent a booklet to all lawmakers from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) that contains sharp criticism of the anti-immigrant party, as well as a sample letter for members to quit the AfD.
The AfD parliamentary group confirmed on Thursday that its members had received the booklet and the letter.
The CDU brochure, in which the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz details the perceived dangers emanating from the AfD across some 30 pages, caused a stir last week.
AfD parliamentary director Bernd Baumann published a video on social media on May 21 that shows him picking up a copy at the CDU's party headquarters in Berlin.
Holding up the booklet outside the CDU headquarters, Baumann said the text was "full of lies and fake news," adding that he couldn't believe the CDU was distributing it.
A CDU spokeswoman confirmed that the party had since sent copies to all AfD lawmakers.
Germany's main conservative party, which leads the current governing coalition, has been repeatedly surpassed by the far-right party in recent nationwide polls.
An INSA survey earlier this month put the AfD first at a record 29%, the highest figure ever recorded for the party at national level, while the conservatives dropped to 22%, their weakest showing in an INSA poll in over four years.
In a country that continues to be deeply scarred by the memory of Nazi rule and the Holocaust, the rise of the AfD has been viewed with major concern by Germany's mainstream parties, who have all vowed not to cooperate with the far-right party, a strategy known as maintaining a firewall.
