Germany breaks its far-right taboo
An 80-year firewall has been shattered as the centre-right offers to team up with the far-right AfD to pass tougher immigration laws

Since the fall of Nazism, said Samira El Ouassil in Der Spiegel (Hamburg), Germany's main political parties have been united in an iron consensus: "Never again should the world be set on fire by right-wing extremist forces." In practical terms, that has meant rejecting "even the smallest cooperation" with far-right parties in the Bundestag.
But last week that 80-year "firewall" was shattered with "astonishing momentum" by Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative CDU, when he teamed up with Alice Weidel of the far-right AfD to pass a motion for stricter immigration laws. The motion was ultimately rejected 48 hours later by 350 to 338, but the breaking of a national taboo by a man widely seen as the chancellor-in-waiting sparked a wave of outrage, prompting rare interventions from the Protestant and Catholic Churches, and from Merz's predecessor as CDU leader, Angela Merkel, while 160,000 marched in Berlin in protest.
Rightly so, said Stephan Detjen in Deutschlandfunk (Cologne). Thanks to Merz's Faustian pact, a toxic, extremist party guilty of antisemitic, anti-Muslim and anti-democratic statements has been allowed to enter the "bourgeois middle". But what else could Merz do, asked Philip Fabian in Bild (Berlin). Unlike his opponents, the CDU leader understands that if there's one issue that "drives voters into the arms of the AfD", it's immigration. With only weeks until a general election, it has surged to second in the polls on the back of widespread discontent over migration levels, the anger reaching boiling point when a two-year-old was stabbed to death by a failed Afghan asylum seeker in Aschaffenburg two weeks ago.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Parties such as the SPD and the Greens may prefer to hide behind "firewall hysteria", and portray themselves "as the last bastion of resistance before an impending seizure of power of the sort that occurred in 1933", but Merz is the only mainstream politician with a "concrete plan" to tackle migration and shrink the AfD. And it was the terror attack in Aschaffenburg that gave him the opportunity to act. "Ancient Greeks had a word for what Merz spotted," said Georg Anastasiadis in the Münchner Merkur (Munich): "Kairos" – the moment that must be seized. A known risk taker, Merz went "all-in" with his immigration manoeuvre, hoping it would ultimately push the AfD onto the defensive.
But will Merz's gamble pay off, asked Hannah Bethke in Die Welt (Berlin). A small, snapshot poll this week put the AfD only two points behind Merz's CDU, though it was likely taken before last week's immigration showdown had had time to influence public opinion. The election on 23 February looks closer than ever. By flirting with extremism, Merz may have alienated future coalition partners in the SPD and the Greens, and jeopardised any hope "of forming a stable government".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What to know about investing in ETFs
The Explainer Exchange-traded funds can be a great choice for beginners
-
15 dank Gen Z dating phrases
In Depth Knowing these neologisms can help anyone navigate the extremely online world of youth romance culture
-
Why do farmers hate Trump’s Argentina bailout?
Today's Big Question Trump’s support for Argentina has ‘heightened tensions’ among farmers already frustrated by the impact of tariffs
-
Ukraine: Trump’s latest stalling tactic
Feature Trump plans to impose sanctions on Russia only if all 31 NATO states join in and agree to ban Russian oil imports
-
Cancel culture: Now coming from the Right
Feature Conservatives are encouraging the firing of hundreds of Americans over their negative opinions on Charlie Kirk
-
Crackdown: Trump’s new blue city targets
Feature Trump has vowed to deploy the National Guard, FBI, and ICE to Memphis, naming St. Louis and New Orleans as his next targets
-
Democrats: Harris and Biden’s blame game
Feature Kamala Harris’ new memoir reveals frustrations over Biden’s reelection bid and her time as vice president
-
Tilting at windmills
Feature President Trump has long loathed wind power. Now his administration is trying to kill the industry.
-
Trump vows vengeance against the Left
Feature The Trump administration cracks down on ‘hate speech’ from the Left after the murder of Charlie Kirk
-
Is free speech under threat in Britain?
The Explainer The Trump administration thinks that free speech is in retreat in Britain. What do we mean by freedom of speech, and is it in danger?
-
Charlie Kirk: a shocking murder in a divided country
In the Spotlight Little sign of kind politics in the US after political influencer killed