Conservatives have cooperated with the far-right AfD for the first time, amid growing support from the tech billionaire.

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.

Germany’s parliament has 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.

Germany’s likely next chancellor wants tougher migration measures even with AfD support, triggering a fierce pre-election debate.

BERLIN — With Germany’s election less than a month away, center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz has thrown cold water on the prospect of reviving the country’s traditional grand coalition — bluntly declaring that he “can’t trust” conservative leader Friedrich Merz anymore.

R ARELY HAS the Bundestag known such drama. On January 29th, to scenes of uproar in Germany’s parliament, a tiny majority of mps approved a radical five-point plan to curb irreg

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, the frontrunner to become chancellor in February's election, is making waves by agreeing to work with the far-right AfD on immigration rules.

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

Opening the door to leaning on support from the far-right is a gamble for Merz, who believes that his increasingly radical stance on migration will win back right-wingers who are tempted to vote for the AfD. But in so doing, he could risk losing support from the centre.

The former chancellor’s intervention exposes a deepening rift within Germany’s conservatives over how to handle the AfD’s rising influence.