BERLIN — With Germany’s election less than a month away, center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz has thrown cold water on the prospect of reviving the country’s traditional grand coalition — bluntly declaring that he “can’t trust” conservative leader Friedrich Merz anymore.

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz has put demands for a more restrictive approach to migration at the centre of his campaign for the February election.

Germany’s parliament has narrowly approved a call by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s main challenger to turn back many more migrants at the country’s borders, with the help of a far-right party.

Despite his collaboration with far-right AfD party, Merz fails to gain majority in parliament for his anti-immigration legislation just weeks before parliamentary election - Anadolu Ajansı

Germany’s opposition leader says his party will bring motions to toughen migration policy to parliament next week in one of its last sessions before the country’s election

Germany’s likely next chancellor wants tougher migration measures even with AfD support, triggering a fierce pre-election debate.

Shugaban gwamnatin Jamus kuma dan takarar jam'iyyar SPD a zaben gabanin wa'adi, ya caccaki abokin hamyyarsa na CDU mai adawa Friedrich Merz, kan manufofinsa na kulla kawance da jam'iyyar masu kyamar baki ta AfD.

Election posters at a street in Duesseldorf, Germany, show the top candidates for chancellor, Robert Habeck of the Green Party, Friedrich Merz of the CDU and Olaf Scholz for the SPD, from left, prior the German federal Bundestag elections in February,

Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats broke a political taboo by working with the hard-right Alternative for Germany to toughen rules on immigration. It did not pay off.

The country’s likely next chancellor wanted to focus on the economy—before suddenly betting everything on culture war.

BERLIN — 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.