Conservative frontrunner, Friedrich Merz, had declared his willingness to pass a migration law with AfD support, weakening Germany’s far-right “firewall.”

Merz, now 69, represents a sharp rightward turn from Merkel’s centrist legacy. His campaign motto is “A Germany we can be proud of again,” but the slogan, argues Hartwig Pautz, a political scientist at the University of the West of Scotland, is set to collide with some very harsh realities.

On Wednesday, Merz pushed through a non-binding motion in favour of an immigration crackdown with support from the AfD, breaking with Germany’s tradition of consensus-driven, centrist politics. Many fear it will only further embolden the far right.

Friedrich Merz, Germany's opposition leader, views a second Trump presidency as a chance for EU unity. As he seeks to become Germany's chancellor, Merz emphasizes Europe's need for collective strength and sees potential in Trump's predictable policies for EU-U.

Though German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meant his comparison of CDU leader Friedrich Merz to Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán as an insult, "experience suggests it is actually a compliment", Zoltán Kovács said on Facebook.

Friedrich Merz, the conservative frontrunner to replace Chancellor Olaf Scholz after Germany's upcoming elections, is calling on the European Union to present a united front in response to US President-elect Donald Trump.

Social Democrat Scholz warns that Merz's proposal for permanent border controls would violate EU law, damage the economy, and threaten stability - Anadolu Ajansı

Left Party lawmaker Clara Bünger says immigration data shows that there is no national emergency in Germany. She pointed out that the figures show refugees make up just 4% of the population, and said some of those people have been in the country for decades.

Context: Brussels is “reviewing” its probes into tech groups including Apple, Meta and Google, launched under its landmark digital markets rules. Trump said he considered fines imposed by the EU on US tech companies operating there as a “form of taxation”, and has vowed to retaliate.

Friedrich Merz, hitherto favourite to become Germany's next chancellor, suffered a blow three weeks before a national election on Friday when 12 of his own legislators refused to support him in backing a migration bill that thereby failed to pass in parliament.

The sweat was dripping off Friedrich Merz after the frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor saw his bid to outflank an ascendant far right spectacularly backfire in the Bundestag.