Hundreds in Berlin protest stricter migration policy push backed by far-right

Hundreds of Germans gathered in front of the centre-right CDU party's headquarters in Berlin in protest against the passing of a stricter migration policy seeking to turn back more migrants at the country's borders.

The proposal was put forward by the CDU leader Friedrich Merz and has drawn criticism as it was only able to pass with the backing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Merz has put migration in the spotlight following a knife attack a week ago by an Afghan asylum seeker who killed a man and a 2-year-old boy.

The opposition leader presented two non-binding motions in parliament calling for heightened security measures and the closure of German land borders to irregular migration.

The motion favouring more rejections of asylum seekers on Germany's borders passed by 348 votes to 345, with 10 abstentions, after a group of opposition parties, including AfD, said they would back it.

Far-right lawmakers applauded the result, while the parliamentary leader of Scholz's party, Rolf Mützenich, said Merz's Union bloc had “broken out of the political centre”.

A second CDU-CSU motion with comprehensive reform proposals for a restrictive migration policy and additional powers for the security authorities was rejected by a majority of votes.

Merz's proposals, supported by the far-right, have heightened political tensions in Germany, especially since the CDU was part of the initiative to maintain a "firewall" against collaboration with the AfD.

Addressing the German Parliament prior to the vote, Merz advocated for his policy and its backing from the AfD, stating: "A correct decision doesn’t lose its validity just because the wrong people support it. It stays correct. It stays correct."

The vote comes just weeks before German voters elect a new parliament after Scholz's three-party governing coalition collapsed at the end of 2024.

Polls show Merz's centre-right CDU in the lead with around 30% support, the AfD is second with about 20%, and Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats and their remaining coalition partners, the Greens, are further back.