Germany's Bundestag descends into recrimination after a "firewall" against working with the far-right cracks.

Summary

Germany’s parliament erupted in controversy after the far-right AfD backed a CDU-led motion for stricter asylum policies, breaking a long-standing “firewall” against cooperation with extremists.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz defended the move, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned it as an “unforgivable mistake.”

The AfD, polling second nationally, celebrated the vote as a victory.

Merz’s stance signals a shift from Angela Merkel’s centrist policies, sparking concerns that mainstream conservatives are normalizing far-right influence ahead of Germany’s upcoming snap election.

  • OptionalEnglish
    61•3 hours ago

    Propaganda Works. Inviting a social media oligarch to run your party’s propaganda is going to work.

    Germany, your time is running out to stop this. Trust us.

    • @[email protected]English
      3•39 minutes ago

      My dude, we have the same issues you do. Half the voting population actually wants to be governed by fascists. You can’t get rid of them democratically.

    • @Jesus_666English
      18•3 hours ago

      That’s why I’m going to vote for a party I don’t believe in. Normally I would vote for one of the parties I do believe in and help them build momentum on their path toward 5% – but with the AfD on the rise and the Union blatantly putting personal opportunism over the interests of the country, I can’t afford my vote to not count.

      Once more I wish we had a preferential voting system so people can vote for who they believe in and fall back to a less preferred alternative if necessary.