Friedrich Merz leaned the right-wing AfD party to push through measures to restrict immigration.

Germany's parliament rejected on Friday an opposition draft law on tightening immigration policy, averting the prospect of a law passing for the first time in modern German history thanks to the backing of the far-right.

The Bundestag has rejected the CDU/CSU bill on limiting immigration. As noted by the media, this is a painful defeat for Friedrich Merz, who aimed to gain the support of the conservative electorate before the elections with this bill.

Germany's parliament is expected to vote Friday on an opposition bill calling for tougher rules on migration that could become the first legislation to pass thanks to a far-right party — adding to a controversy about the attitude of the front-runner in Germany's upcoming election toward the far right.

Germany's conservative election frontrunner Friedrich Merz defiantly vowed Friday to pass a bill to restrict immigration with the support of the far-right AfD, repeating a tactic that has sparked an

German parliament rejects controversial migration bill backed by far-right - The CDU relied on AfD to pass a motion for the controversial bill, breaking a decades-long tradition of excluding the far-r

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz has put demands for a more restrictive approach to migration at the centre of his campaign for the February election.