Merkel slams successor over far-right support on immigration bill

January 30, 2025 and   

(AFP) Germany’s ex-chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in Thursday on a controversy flaring ahead of February elections, slamming her party successor for relying on far-right support on the flashpoint issue of immigration.

Conservative CDU leader Friedrich Merz sparked outrage Wednesday when he pushed through parliament a resolution demanding sweeping curbs to immigration, relying for the first time on votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his allies the Greens denounced the vote as a breach of a taboo in post-war Germany against any cooperation with extremist parties.

News site Der Spiegel judged that “this day will not only change the election campaign but German politics as a whole.”

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