By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-31 18:16:37 | Updated at 2025-01-31 22:04:56
3 hours ago
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.
On Wednesday the Bundestag lower house passed a non-binding motion on migration proposed by the opposition conservatives with the support of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), breaking a taboo against cooperating with the far-right party, which is under surveillance by Germany’s security services.
But this time 12 conservative lawmakers opted not to back the draft bill sponsored by their own leader Friedrich Merz, who opinion polls suggest will be Germany’s next chancellor after a national election set for February 23.
Their failure to endorse his draft deals a blow to the authority of Merz, who had pushed for the law despite warnings from party colleagues that he risked being tarnished with the charge of voting alongside the far-right.
“The draft law is rejected,” said parliament vice-president Petra Pau, announcing that 338 lawmakers had backed Merz’s bill calling for restrictions on family reunification and more expulsions at the borders, while 350 had voted against.
“I would have liked to see a different result but this creates clarity,” Merz told reporters after the vote.
