The former German chancellor said it was not right to remain silent after her party, the conservative CDU, relied on votes from the far-right AfD to pass a motion in parliament.Germany' s former chancellor Angela Merkel has repeated her criticism of her party leader Friedrich Merz for relying on votes from the far-right AfD to pass a motion in parliament.

Conservative leader’s gambit to weaken the postwar ‘firewall’ may be a boon for the AfD ahead of a national election.

Last week, the CDU broke the mainstream parties' so-called firewall of noncooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, as it relied on votes from AfD members in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, to pass a nonbinding vote on tougher border and asylum rules.

The sweat was dripping off Friedrich Merz after the frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor saw his bid to outflank an ascendant far right spectacularly backfire in the Bundestag.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has issued rare public criticism of her successor as the country’s center-right leader, the front-runner in Germany’s election next month, for putting to parliament proposals for tough new migration rules that only passed with the help of a far-right party.

The centre-right CDU has been accused of breaking 'taboo' by putting forward a motion to the Bundestag for a stricter migration policy which was backed by the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD).

Germany's election frontrunner Friedrich Merz on Monday called on his conservative CDU to "stay the course" after mass protests against its acceptance of far-right AfD support for calls to restrict immigration.