Germany´s conservatives gather after protests over far-right help

By AFP
February 04, 2025
People hold placards during a protest against the migration plans of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader and top candidate for German chancellor Friedrich Merz and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, in Berlin, Germany, February 2, 2025. — Reuters
People hold placards during a protest against the migration plans of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader and top candidate for German chancellor Friedrich Merz and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, in Berlin, Germany, February 2, 2025. — Reuters

BERLIN: Germany´s conservative election front-runner Friedrich Merz was set to outline his plans on immigration and the economy at a party congress on Monday after a weekend of mass protests against him, and with less than three weeks to go until national elections.

Opposition CDU leader Merz and his Bavarian CSU allies have vowed a crackdown on irregular migrants but provoked strong protests in parliament and on the streets after accepting support from MPs of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Their joint votes in parliament twice last week breached a long-standing taboo in post-war Germany and shattered what has been labelled a “firewall” of non-cooperation between mainstream and extremist parties.