The German parliament rejected an opposition draft law on tightening immigration policy on Friday, two days after the opposition conservatives were accused of breaching an agreement against cooperating with the far right for the first time.
Opposition leader Friedrich Merz, whose conservatives are leading in the polls before a Feb. 23 snap election, said the new law was a necessary response to a series of high-profile killings in public spaces by people of immigrant background.
His similar, non-binding motion was passed by parliament on Wednesday thanks to backing from legislators from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), prompting a wave of protest from the public, politicians and even some of his own party at a supposed breach of an agreement not to work with the far right.
A DeutschlandTrend poll for public television found that 67% of voters backed permanent border controls, including over half the supporters of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.