Conservative frontrunner, Friedrich Merz, had declared his willingness to pass a migration law with AfD support, weakening Germany’s far-right “firewall.”

The conservative CDU/CSU party is hardening its stance on irregular immigration. Others in Europe have already paved the way.

Though German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meant his comparison of CDU leader Friedrich Merz to Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán as an insult, "experience suggests it is actually a compliment", Zoltán Kovács said on Facebook.

The conservative leader wants to impose strict border controls after knife killings in Aschaffenburg this week.

Friedrich Merz, Germany's opposition leader, views a second Trump presidency as a chance for EU unity. As he seeks to become Germany's chancellor, Merz emphasizes Europe's need for collective strength and sees potential in Trump's predictable policies for EU-U.

Social Democrat Scholz warns that Merz's proposal for permanent border controls would violate EU law, damage the economy, and threaten stability - Anadolu Ajansı

Friedrich Merz, the conservative frontrunner to replace Chancellor Olaf Scholz after Germany's upcoming elections, is calling on the European Union to present a united front in response to US President-elect Donald Trump.

Germany's conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz, frontrunner in polls to become ... he would seek strong ties with Germany's traditional core EU partner France but also with Poland and ...

Context: Brussels is “reviewing” its probes into tech groups including Apple, Meta and Google, launched under its landmark digital markets rules. Trump said he considered fines imposed by the EU on US tech companies operating there as a “form of taxation”, and has vowed to retaliate.

Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats broke a political taboo by working with the hard-right Alternative for Germany to toughen rules on immigration. It did not pay off.

One might almost suspect – what a shocking thought – that conservatives are once again invoking a state of emergency as a means to the end of getting rid of normative constraints, as opposed to the other way round.