German parliament expected to vote on migration bill that could pass with far-right support

[January 31, 2025]  By GEIR MOULSON

BERLIN (AP) — 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.

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz has put demands for a more restrictive approach to migration at the center of his campaign for the Feb. 23 election since a deadly knife attack last week by a rejected asylum-seeker.

The way he has done so has prompted opponents to question his commitment to upholding mainstream parties' “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, and triggered protests, though he insists his position is unchanged and that he didn't and won't work with the party.

On Wednesday, Merz put a nonbinding motion to parliament calling for Germany to turn back many more migrants at its borders, insisting that decisions are needed now regardless of who supports them. The measure squeaked through thanks to the support of the far-right party, a first that drew a rare public rebuke from ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, a former leader of Merz's party.

On Friday, months-old legislation proposed by Merz's center-right Union bloc that calls for an end to family reunions for migrants with protection status that falls short of full asylum is scheduled to go to a vote. It also would give federal police increased powers to carry out deportations. The center-left governing parties have said they will reject the “influx limitation bill,” while a combination of opposition parties, including AfD, is in favor.

German opposition leader and Christian Union parties floor leader Friedrich Merz speaks after the debate and a voting about migration at the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

It's uncertain whether it will pass. And its chances of actually becoming law look uncertain at best. It would need approval from parliament's upper house, which represents Germany's 16 state governments, and that looks doubtful.

But the maneuver has added to a growing divide between Merz's bloc, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democrats and their remaining coalition partners, the environmentalist Greens — parties he may need to form a governing coalition after the election.

Polls show Merz’s Union leading with around 30% support, while AfD is second with about 20%, and the Social Democrats and Greens are further back.

Center-left parties have accused Merz of breaking a political consensus to shun the 12-year-old AfD, which first entered parliament in 2017 — benefiting from Merkel's decision two years earlier to allow large numbers of migrants into the country. Scholz has suggested that Merz can no longer be trusted not to form a government with AfD, an accusation that Merz has angrily rejected.

Merz insists that he has sought majorities in the political center. The center-left parties have pointed the finger back at him, noting that he said there could be no compromises on his proposals.

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