German Opposition Gambles With Far-Right on Immigration, and Loses

The man who has been heavily favored to become Germany’s next chancellor took an extraordinary gamble this week, both for his political future and his country’s longstanding firewall against political extremism.

It did not go as he hoped.

In an effort to portray himself and his party as tough on immigration, Friedrich Merz, the leader of the poll-leading Christian Democrats, pushed a series of measures tightening borders and accelerating deportations through Parliament this week. He did so with help from the hard-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD — parts of which have been classified as extremist by German intelligence agencies.

On Friday, the gambit ended in a crushing legislative defeat for Mr. Merz, dissent in his own party and jubilant claims of new legitimacy from the AfD, a chain reaction that could rattle Mr. Merz’s comfortable seat at the top of the polls.

Mr. Merz’s willingness to rely on support from the AfD, broke a taboo in German politics that had endured since the end of World War II.

It left Mr. Merz facing fierce criticism from political opponents, religious leaders, Holocaust survivors and former Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who remains a member of Mr. Merz’s party. Tens of thousands demonstrated outside of conservative Christian Democrats’ party offices across the country.

Despite the criticism and several chances to step back, Mr. Merz decided to bring a bill beefing up migration rules to the floor of the house on Friday. It failed.