Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has publicly criticized the leader of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Friedrich Merz, for passing a parliamentary motion to tighten migration laws with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Al Jazeera reports.
The non-binding motion, put forward by Merz on Wednesday, aimed to strengthen border controls and accelerate deportations. It passed in the German parliament after the AfD voted in favor, marking the first time the far-right party has been instrumental in passing a piece of legislation.
Merkel, who led the CDU and Germany from 2005 to 2021, released a statement through her office on Thursday, labeling Merz’s decision as “wrong.” She pointed out that Merz had previously committed to avoiding collaboration with the AfD, particularly after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government broke down in November.
The AfD, an anti-immigrant and Eurosceptic party, is currently polling second behind the CDU in the lead up to national elections on February 23. This development raises concerns about the increasing influence of the far-right in German politics.
Merz has defended his actions, insisting he did not intend to work with the AfD and that he did not violate the “firewall” consensus, which typically sees mainstream parties shun the far-right. He stated, “A correct decision doesn’t become wrong because the wrong people approve it.”
However, Merkel strongly disagreed.
“I think it was wrong no longer to feel committed to this proposal and, on 29 January, to enable… a majority with votes from AfD in a vote in the German parliament,” she said.
The issue of migration has become a dominant theme in the German election campaign, particularly following recent attacks attributed to suspects with immigrant backgrounds. Merz, who took over the CDU leadership after Merkel stepped down in 2021, has adopted a more socially conservative stance on migration compared to his predecessor.
He recently criticized Germany’s asylum and immigration policy for the past decade – a period that includes Merkel’s time as Chancellor when large numbers of migrants were allowed into the country. Merz is attempting to position the CDU as decisive on the migration issue, hoping to both diminish the AfD’s appeal and make the center-left Social Democrats and the Greens appear weak on the matter. Notably, neither the Social Democrats nor the Greens supported the motion that passed on Wednesday.
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