Friedrich Merz, hitherto favorite to become Germany’s next chancellor, suffered a blow three weeks before a national election on Friday when 12 of his own legislators refused to support him in backing a migration bill that thereby failed to pass in parliament.
Merz, whose conservative bloc has held a comfortable lead in the polls throughout the campaign, had already caused dismay within his party for saying the law was so important he was prepared to pass it with support from the far-right, nativist Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Parties of the center in German politics had previously always joined forces to prevent the AfD, which is under surveillance by Germany’s security services, from achieving legislative power.
Photo: EPA-EFE
He on Wednesday got a non-binding motion on migration passed in the Bundestag lower house with AfD support, but lost on Friday at the hands of his own party members, in a blow to his leadership credentials.
“This move was entirely unnecessary: Merz had a sizeable lead in the polls, and could have just sailed to the elections,” Jacques Delors Centre deputy director Thu Nguyen wrote on social media platform Bluesky.
“Instead, he deliberately chose to rely on the support of the AfD to get a majority — twice,” she added, deeming the possibility of a stable German government as “further away than ever” after the vote.
The draft would have restricted family reunifications for some refugees and called for more people to be refused at the border.
Two-thirds of the public support stronger immigration rules, a recent poll showed.
Merz said that the bill was a necessary response to a series of high-profile killings in public spaces by people with an immigrant background. However, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens said the proposals would not have stopped the attacks and contravened European law.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD in a video on Instagram said: “Will we continue to confront complex problems in future or will we capitulate to the empty promises of the far right? How we answer these questions will define what kind of country we live in.”
It remains to be seen if the defeat affects party standings, where the SPD and their Green coalition partners, on 15 percent and 13 percent respectively, are far behind the conservatives’ 30 percent.
The AfD, second in the polls and flush from their first parliamentary victory in helping pass Wednesday’s resolution, criticized Merz for failing to gather enough support for Friday’s law.
“Merz doesn’t have what it takes to be chancellor,” AfD leader Alice Weidel said. “The conservatives aren’t united.”
China’s military news agency yesterday warned that Japanese militarism is infiltrating society through series such as Pokemon and Detective Conan, after recent controversies involving events at sensitive sites. In recent days, anime conventions throughout China have reportedly banned participants from dressing as characters from Pokemon or Detective Conan and prohibited sales of related products. China Military Online yesterday posted an article titled “Their schemes — beware the infiltration of Japanese militarism in culture and sports.” The article referenced recent controversies around the popular anime series Pokemon, Detective Conan and My Hero Academia, saying that “the evil influence of Japanese militarism lives on in
DIPLOMATIC THAW: The Canadian prime minister’s China visit and improved Beijing-Ottawa ties raised lawyer Zhang Dongshuo’s hopes for a positive outcome in the retrial China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian official said on Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing. Schellenberg’s lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo (張東碩), yesterday confirmed China’s Supreme People’s Court struck down the sentence. Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China-Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟). That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians — Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory. In January
A sign hanging from a rusty ice-green shipping container installed by Thai forces on what they say is the border with Cambodia reads: “Cambodian citizens are strictly prohibited from entering this area.” On opposite sides of the makeshift barricade, fronted by coils of barbed wire, Cambodians lamented their lost homes and livelihoods as Thailand’s military showed off its gains. Thai forces took control of several patches of disputed land along the border during fighting last year, which could amount to several square kilometers in total. Cambodian Kim Ren said her house in Chouk Chey used to stand on what is now the Thai
NEW RULES: There would be fewer school days, four-day workweeks, and a reduction in transportation services as the country battles a crisis exacerbated by US pressure The Cuban government on Friday announced emergency measures to address a crippling energy crisis worsened by US sanctions, including the adoption of a four-day work week for state-owned companies and fuel sale restrictions. Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga blamed Washington for the crisis, telling Cuban television the government would “implement a series of decisions, first and foremost to guarantee the vitality of our country and essential services, without giving up on development.” “Fuel will be used to protect essential services for the population and indispensable economic activities,” he said. Among the new measures are the reduction of the working week in
RSS