The German parliament debated motions to tighten migration rules after a deadly attack by a rejected asylum seeker. CDU leader Friedrich Merz said he would not shun the help of the far-right AfD to push them through.
The two parties remaining in Germany’s coalition government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party, have once more criticized Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merz for saying he is ready to cooperate with the far-right AfD to push through migration proposals.
“A person like that must not lead this country,” said the SPD’s Katja Mast in reference to Merz’s status as his party’s candidate for chancellor at upcoming elections.
Merz was “not suitable” to be German chancellor, Mast said, saying he possessed neither the integrity nor the reliability required for such an office.
The Green Party’s Irene Mihalic said the potential approval of the AfD, whom she named “the fascists,” would be a “flagrant breach.”
Mihalic said she was disgusted by Merz’s behavior.
“Itt affects me personally that someone who wants to become chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany is playing such a dangerous game with the political culture and democracy in our country,” she said.
