For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany helped the centrist CDU/CSU bloc secure a majority in a vote.
At first, nothing foreshadowed the coming storm. On the agenda for the next session of the German parliament on January 29, a motion entitled «Current domestic policy issues» was put forward at the initiative of the conservative opposition. The schedule called for a 25-minute statement by the chancellor, followed by an hour and a half of discussion.
In his introductory remarks, Olaf Scholz reminded the Bundestag in his insinuating manner that humanity and justice are inherent values of German society and that the right to political asylum is guaranteed by the Basic Law and therefore cannot be the subject of political bargaining.
It turned out, however, that the seemingly innocuous and (at first glance) vague wording of the discussion topic concealed a ticking time bomb. The leader of the CDU and candidate for the chancellorship of the Christian Democrats, Friedrich Merz, put forward a draft resolution of a declaratory nature calling for a radical tightening of immigration laws. To be clear, this was not a bill, but a resolution, which could be followed by a legislative initiative. The proposal called for the introduction of permanent passport controls along Germany’s entire external border, the possibility of rejecting asylum seekers at the border, a ban on entry for people without the proper documents, an increase in police powers to expel illegal immigrants, the detention of foreigners who have been ordered to leave the country by the authorities, and an increase in deportations. Notably, several of these ideas do not comply with European Union legislation at the national level.
Merz said his initiative was prompted by a series of murders by lone migrant attackers of random passersby in German cities. In December 2024, a native of Saudi Arabia ran over six people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg; in January, a mentally ill native of Afghanistan fatally stabbed two people, including a two-year-old child, in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria; and in Belitz, Brandenburg, a 23-year-old migrant from Guinea slit the throat of a 24-year-old CDU activist.
Discussion of the resolution was stormy — the debate was conducted in raised tones, to say the least, and was repeatedly interrupted by shouts from the gallery. Angry deputies were called to order, and the microphones were even turned off for those who exceeded their allotted time.
In the end, a roll call vote was taken. Merz’s proposal was supported by 348 members of parliament, opposed by 345, with 10 abstentions. The narrow majority of only three votes was achieved by conservatives, liberals and… «alternatives». On the opposing side were (all) representatives of the still ruling SPD and the Greens, as well as the Left Party. The deputies of the left-populist alliance «Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance» abstained.
After the result was announced in the chamber, there was a deathly silence and the session was suspended for half an hour. The Social Democratic Party faction went to the press in full force. More than two hundred deputies rallied behind their leader, Rolf Mützechnik, who declared that Chancellor Scholz’s party was outraged by the ease with which the CDU/CSU bloc had abandoned the political center, and he called for the defense of democracy.
The Left Party even called on the German people to «go to the barricades».
Even Merz realized that he had really caused a stir. He expressed regret that he had brought the AfD to his side.
When the meeting resumed, the representative of the “alternatives”, Bernd Baumann, addressed a dejected Friedrich: «This is a historic moment. You helped bring it about, and now you stand there with trembling knees, stuttering and apologizing. <…> And you, Mr. Merz, can still follow us — if you have the strength».
It is worth noting that in a YouGov poll published on January 29, the bloc of conservative parties (29%) barely surpassed the right-wing populists (23%), who, by the way, are supported by the influential advisor to the foreign president, Elon Musk. Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats have sunk to 15%.
The following day, January 30, former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had paved the way for migrants in Germany, stepped out of the shadows. She reminded everyone that her party colleague Merz had promised last November not to put forward any proposals for a vote before the early parliamentary elections (scheduled for February 23), which could only be passed with the support of the AfD. She urged him to return to this position, which she described as «an expression of great political responsibility».
In fact, deputies and observers themselves described the results of the scandalous vote as a «tectonic shift» in German politics. In post-war Germany, the taboo of cooperating with nationalists had fallen. It is, of course, hard to believe, but after the snap elections, the prospect arose that a government alliance led by the CDU/CSU bloc, which was predicted to win, would govern together with the Alternative for Germany. For German and European liberal democracy, this is scarier than the plague.