The CDU party chief, who leads in the polls to become the next chancellor, said he would collect votes from all parties to push his five-point migration plan through parliament despite Chancellor Olaf Scholz's strong opposition.

Friedrich Merz’s hard-line shift on migration is a calculated gambit by the German conservative leader to neutralize the far right and deliver a breakthrough with wavering voters, according to people familiar with his thinking.

German election frontrunner Friedrich Merz succeeded on Wednesday in getting a motion passed in parliament that calls for a migration crackdown including the rejection of asylum seekers at the country's land borders.

The front-runner to be Germany's next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has faced criticism for accepting support from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. View on euronews

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s main challenger in Germany’s upcoming election plans to put proposals for a tougher migration policy to parliament

Germany's opposition conservatives won parliamentary approval on Wednesday for a proposal to drastically restrict migration with the help of votes from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), breaking a taboo on cooperation with the far-right.

Germany's parliament on Wednesday narrowly approved a call by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's main challenger to turn back many more migrants at the country's borders, with the help of a far-right party — a move that drew strong criticism of the front-runner in the campaign for next month's election.

With less than four weeks before Germany’s federal election, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who is leading polls, will take their contentious battle over how to crack down on illegal migration to parliament.

German opposition conservative leader Friedrich Merz said he regrets that plans to reject more asylum seekers at Germany's borders may have passed in parliament on Wednesday with the help of votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).