Anadolu staff
30 January 2025•Update: 30 January 2025
BERLIN
Germany's former Chancellor Angela Merkel sharply rebuked Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz on Thursday for advancing an anti-immigration motion that relied on support from the far-right AfD party.
In a statement posted on her official website, Merkel criticized CDU leader Merz for reversing his stance from just two months earlier, when he had called on democratic parties to avoid any cooperation with right-wing extremists in the parliament.
“This proposal at that time and the stance associated with it were an expression of great political responsibility, which I fully supported. I consider it is wrong to no longer feel bound by this proposal and thereby, for the first time, to allow a majority with the votes of the AfD in a vote in the parliament,” Merkel said.
The main opposition Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) introduced several motions and a draft bill to parliament this week to modify the country's immigration and asylum laws, ahead of elections on Feb. 23.
A key non-binding motion—which called for turning away irregular migrants and asylum seekers at German borders—passed Wednesday with the AfD's support. The measure narrowly succeeded with 348 votes to 345, critically relying on 75 AfD votes.
The Christian Democrats had previously maintained a strict policy of non-cooperation with the AfD at all levels of government, considering the far-right party's extremist positions incompatible with democratic values.
While Merkel acknowledged Germany's challenges with irregular migration and crime, she emphasized that solutions must emerge through non-partisan cooperation.
“All democratic parties must work together across political boundaries—not as a tactical maneuver, but honestly, moderately, and within European law,” she said, adding that only this approach could prevent terrible attacks like those in Magdeburg and Aschaffenburg in recent months.
The immigration and deportation debate has intensified after a recent deadly knife attack in Aschaffenburg last week that claimed two lives, including a child's. The attacker, a 28-year-old Afghan national, injured three others. Officials confirmed the perpetrator's history of violence and mental health issues. Despite his asylum application's rejection in June, bureaucratic failures prevented his deportation.
