But that consensus, often described as a "firewall" by German politicians, seemed to have been undermined on Wednesday when a motion on migration policy put forward by the conservative CDU/CSU bloc was approved by the Bundestag with the support of the far-right AfD.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz may need support in the Bundestag from the AfD, a move that has attracted wide condemnation.

Friedrich Merz leaned the right-wing AfD party to push through measures to restrict immigration.

More than 7 million eligible voters in Germany have an immigration background. However, studies show they're a neglected demographic, and many have lost their faith in the leading parties.In Germany,

German election frontrunner Friedrich Merz succeeded on Wednesday in getting a motion passed in parliament that calls for a migration crackdown including the rejection of asylum seekers at the country's land borders.

Germany’s conservative bloc requested a surprise recess in the lower house of parliament on Friday in a sign of the tension over plans to pass a hard-line immigration bill with backing of the far right.