The German parliament has narrowly rejected a law to tighten up asylum measures. The controversy over the law, and how it could have been passed with support from the far right AfD, have rocked German politics.

Merz, leader of the Christian Democrats, had sought to restrict immigration rules with the support of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The bill fell short of 12 votes on Friday. Twelve MPs from Merz’s parliamentary group were absent.

Intensive high-level talks were under way in the German capital on Friday, hours ahead of a highly controversial planned vote on a package of migration reforms pushed by the centre-right opposition CDU/CSU bloc.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s parliament is expected to vote Friday on an opposition bill calling for tougher rules on migration that could become the first legislation to pass thanks to a far-right party — adding to a controversy about the attitude of the front-runner in Germany’s upcoming election toward the far right.

A 99-year-old Holocaust survivor said on Thursday he would return his federal order of merit award to the German state in protest over a parliamentary vote in which support from the far-right was used for the first time to secure a majority.

German political leaders held intensive closed-door talks in Berlin on Friday, hours ahead of a highly controversial planned vote on a package of migration reforms pushed by the centre-right opposition CDU/CSU bloc.

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.

Germany's conservatives doubled down Friday on allowing the far-right AfD to back their pre-election push to restrict immigration, but failed to pass a contentious bill after a day of jeers