In rare public statement, Merkel criticizes her party's decision to pass anti-immigration proposal with critical support of far-right party - Anadolu Ajansı

Conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democrats has reaffirmed his principled rejection of cooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), despite Wednesday's joint approval of a Bundestag motion on migration policy.

Wednesday's vote saw the opposition CDU and its CSU partners rely on AfD votes to pass a parliamentary motion demanding tougher immigration rules

Nearly half of Germans believe it is justifiable to cooperate with the far-right AfD party when democracy requires it. An example of this is the tightening of the country's migration policy. The Christian Democrats,

Germany's two largest Christian churches have jointly denounced opposition leader Friedrich Merz's plans to pass motions on migration policy in the German parliament with the help of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).