Agency Report –
Berlin – German lawmakers appear set to face a highly contentious vote over new migration restrictions backed by the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc on Friday, after talks by other parties to avert the vote failed, sources told dpa.
The proposal has provoked intense controversy across Germany, as CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz will need to rely on support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass the legislation.
Any kind of cooperation with the far-right party has long been viewed as taboo in German politics, with most mainstream politicians and voters considering the AfD an extremist party.
The liberal pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), whose leaders initially backed Merz’s proposal, offered on Friday morning to avert the vote by sending the bill back to committee for further work.
But the FDP hinged their offer on a commitment from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens to work toward a deal on the legislation.
After hours of wrangling on the floor of parliament in Berlin, FDP faction leader Christian Dürr said talks with the SPD and Greens had failed, and that the FDP planned to back the CDU/CSU proposal.
