Angela Merkel, erstwhile German Chancellor, publically reprimanded the leader of her own party, Friedrich Merz, due to the fact that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) for the first time based on the voices of the far rightto pass an anti-immigration proposal in the Bundestag.
This cooperation has broken down for years Isolation alternate to Germany, which presently ranks second in the polls before the 23rd of February election.
The different intervention by Merkel, first reported by German magazine ‘Stern’, reveals inner fracture in CDU How to deal with the increasing influence of AfD.
‘I think it is incorrect not to feel bound by this commitment anymore, and this is the first time obtain the majority of the votes with the participation of AfD in a vote in the German Bundestag," Merkel wrote in a message about what Germany calls ‘firewall’ designed to cut off from AfD.
Merkel referred to the agreement concluded by Merz in November 2024, erstwhile it explicitly undertook toto prevent AfD from playing a decisive function in the Bundestag vote. "This proposal and its related attitude were an expression of large state-political responsibility, which I full support," added the erstwhile Chancellor.
POLITICO contacted Merz's team, who refused to comment on the matter.
A hard relation between Chadetic politicians
Friedrich Merz and Angela Merkel have been in conflict since at least 2002.When Merkel successfully got free of him from the organization leadership. Since Merz became president in 2022, definitely moved the CDU to the right, in many respects undermining the centre heritage of Merkel — especially as regards migration.
DPA/Wolfgang Kumm / PAPFriedrich Merz and Angela Merkel during a debate in the Bundestag. Berlin, 17 February 2000.
CDU consolidated around Merz and criticism in current leadership behind readiness to accept far-right support for anti-immigration measures She was comparatively quiet. Merkel's intervention is improbable to halt her organization from moving to the right on migration, but it may stimulate an interior debate on the function of chadeks in weakening the fire barrier around the far right.
Controversy related to the firewall broke out this week after The CDU proposed to reject asylum seekers at the border.
“Now a fresh era begins”
Although the Bundestag vote was not binding, the CDU had to trust on the AfD for the first time to push the proposal. It's a symbolic break with Merkel's center heritage. and long-term refusal to cooperate with the far right.
For AfD, voting was a crucial moment. "Now a fresh era begins," announced Bernd Baumann, 1 of the most crucial AfD deputies. The organization utilized this minute as evidence that her hard position on migration is gaining mainstream legitimacy.
The political and right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban besides spoke, celebrating a decisive change in Germany on migration. "Guten Morgen, Deutschland! Welcome to the club!” wrote Orban in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He was answered by Alice Weidel, the AfD candidate for Chancellor: “It’s good to be a part of your club!”.
The German centre rapidly went against Merz's decision. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his social democrats accused the CDU leader of undermining trust. Tuesday night before the organization home of the peasants demonstrators gathered demanding a stronger commitment to keep the far right out of power.
Merz is now facing potential leadership crisis. Although he did not support open cooperation with AfD, critics claim that his rhetoric on migration and failure to halt CDU MPs from accepting the support of the far right has obscured the boundaries in force in the organization for years.
Michael Kappeler / DPA / PAPFriedrich Merz, CDU leader, in the Bundestag. Berlin, 29 January 2025.
Merkel's intervention makes his position even more uncertain. Although Merkel resigned as CDU leader in 2018 and left the Chancellor's Office in 2021, remains an influential figure in the organization among average organization memberswho view her as the guardian of the centre CDU course.
The vote, which took place only a fewer weeks before the accelerated elections, even more polarized the campaign. Merz is now facing a hard choice: insist on your course to the right or effort to strengthen the firewall. That decision can find his political future.
