OP-ED: The Christian Democrats’ Dangerous Gamble with the Far Right in Germany

By Karl Kopp and Wiebke Judith

By aligning itself with the far right, so-called Alternative for Germany (AfD), to push through brazenly unlawful asylum and migration policies, Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU) under Friedrich Merz are not merely undermining legal norms, they are actively eroding the very foundations of democracy. The so-called “firewall against the right” has begun to crumble in Germany, and the implications could be dire. However, there are also signs of hope: hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets in protest, sending a clear message: “Uprising of the Just – We are the firewall”.

An election campaign already focused on asylum and migration catches fire

Following the collapse of the coalition of Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals in November 2024 and the decision to hold early elections on 23 February 2025, parties were forced to accelerate their election campaigns. Initially, the conservative CDU announced that it would focus on the economy in its campaign. However, this facade quickly fell apart. From the beginning of the year, the party has relentlessly pushed problematic proposals that have inflamed the migration debate. With the 2025 elections approaching, CDU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz has fully embraced a hardline anti-asylum stance, displaying blatant disregard for European and international law.

This existing trend was further exacerbated by a horrific attack on a kindergarten group in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg two weeks ago. A two-year-old child and a courageous bystander lost their lives. The suspect, a man from Afghanistan who had previously sought asylum in Germany, had a documented history of severe psychological issues and was known to the authorities.

The tragic events in Aschaffenburg should have prompted reflection, grief, and a thorough investigation into how such horrors can be prevented. Instead, Merz has exploited the tragedy for political gain, leveraging the emotionally charged atmosphere to push for extreme policies that have long been on the CDU’s wish list.

The “Firewall against Far-Right Extremists” cracks in parliament

Even more concerning, Merz broke his own promise not to introduce parliamentary proposals that would only pass with AfD votes. And that is precisely what has now happened.

On 29 January, the CDU, with the support of AfD votes, secured a parliamentary majority for its resolution proposal of a five-point-plan. This marks a watershed moment: for the first time, a democratic party in Germany has openly collaborated with the far right to pass a proposal in parliament. Indeed, this is the first proposal ever passed in the Bundestag with the votes of the AfD.

The question of who won this political stunt became painfully obvious once the vote was announced: while AfD members celebrated and took selfies, CDU parliamentarians appeared visibly shocked by their own actions. Public reactions were equally damning: former Chancellor Angela Merkel openly criticised her successor, Merz; a Holocaust survivor returned his Federal Cross of Merit and a prominent Jewish public intellectual resigned from the CDU.

On 31 January, a more consequential legal proposal narrowly failed. The CDU’s proposed ‘Influx Control Act’ was defeated due to dissenting votes within its own ranks and unexpected opposition from several Liberal (FDP) lawmakers. If the vote would have come out differently, it would have set on its way a law that would have totally abolished family reunification for people with subsidiary protection. While this close call represented a setback for Merz, it did little to undo the damage already done.

The CDU’s Calculated Strategy of Breaking the Law

At the heart of Merz’s campaign rhetoric was a promise to override existing legal frameworks on his first day as chancellor, clearly taking inspiration from Donald Trump. Merz pledged in his five point plan to permanently close Germany’s border, to pushback people seeking asylum at these borders, to detain everyone whose application has been rejected and to deport people to countries such as Syria and Afghanistan. These measures clearly violate European and international law as well as the German Constitution. But this does not seem to bother the CDU. With regard to pushbacks at German borders and disregarding the Dublin Regulation, they claim that Germany is in a state of emergency that allows triggering of Article 72 of the EU Treaty. But this is far from the reality. Compared to 2023, the number of people seeking asylum in Germany has decreased by 30% in 2024. While the vote on the five point plan last week was mainly symbolic as it was a resolution and not a law, we should take very seriously what Friedrich Merz says for after the elections.

The dangerous calculation: The CDU/CSU is dismantling Schengen freedom of movement, pushing aside the German Basic Law, international law and EU law, all to trigger a domino effect, forcing all other member states to adopt the same illegal measures, extending all the way to the EU’s external borders.

This is not merely about restricting migration. It is about reshaping Germany’s role in Europe, moving from being a leader in co-operation and human rights to being an instigator of nationalist policies that weaken the EU’s foundations. While a worrying number of other EU member states are already on such a trajectory, such a shift in Germany could significantly amplify this trend in Europe.

The Endgame: Normalising far-right alliances

Beyond the immediate impact on people seeking asylum, the CDU’s strategy represents a far more insidious shift: it is paving the way for the normalisation of co-operation with the AfD. By relying on AfD votes to pass its policies, the CDU has set a precedent that could have far-reaching consequences. If the firewall against the far right has crumbled now, what will prevent further collaborations in the future? At the local and federal levels, particularly in East Germany, this firewall has already been precarious at best.

The recent votes in the Bundestag were more than mere procedural formalities. They served as a litmus test for Germany’s democracy. While the failure of the Influx Control Act offered a momentary sigh of relief, the broader picture remains alarming. The CDU has officially broken the taboo of working with the far right. The public response has been loud and clear. However, the party may now be waiting to see how its move is evaluated at the ballot box.

History has shown that once democratic institutions begin legitimising extremists, the erosion of democracy accelerates rapidly. The CDU is playing with fire. But right now, it is not too late to change direction.

Karl Kopp is Director and Wiebke Judith is Legal Policy Spokesperson at ECRE member organisation PRO ASYL.