Sources told dpa that Germany’s centre-right CDU/CSU plan to push forward with a highly controversial vote on legislation cracking down on migration in the lower house of German parliament despite last-minute talks with other parties.
“We have to decide today,” CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz told lawmakers from his party in a closed-door meeting, multiple sources told dpa.
Merz, who is currently viewed as the front-runner to replace Chancellor Olaf Scholz after the upcoming February 23 election, received long applause and a standing ovation for his decision, according to sources.
Merz’s vow to put the migration crackdown to a vote has provoked intense controversy in Germany because he will likely need to rely on support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass the measure.
Any form of cooperation with the far right has long been viewed as taboo in German politics, and critics have accused Merz of tearing down the so-called “firewall” that has kept the AfD frozen out of power across the country.
AfD votes provided Merz with the decisive margin to pass a non-binding resolution in the Bundestag on Wednesday, but the planned vote on Friday would mark the first time that the far-right party has been relied on to pass legislation.
Friedrich Merz, Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) Chairman and CDU/Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) parliamentary group leader in the German Bundestag, speaks during the parliamentary group meeting. Intensive high-level talks were under way in the German capital on Friday, hours ahead of a highly controversial planned vote on a package of migration reforms pushed by the centre-right opposition CDU/CSU bloc. Hannes P. Albert/dpa
