Thousands of people protested in Berlin, German capital, on Sunday (2) against plans to limit immigration proposed by opposition conservatives and supported by the ultra -right alternative to Germany (AFD).
Friedrich Merz, the conservative leader who is listed to become Germany’s next chancellor after a national election scheduled for February 23, sponsored a bill with support from AFD, breaking a taboo against cooperation with the Ultra right.
About 160,000 people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, near the Burfish Chamber of Bundestag, according to Berlin police.
Protesters held tracks saying “We are the firewall, without cooperation with AFD” and “Merz, go home, what a shame!”
Merz, the candidate for the Chancellor of the Union parties (CDU/CSU), tried on Friday (31) to pressure the Immigration Bill in the Baixa Chamber, but could not guarantee the majority, because some of the deputies of his own party refused to support him.
The failure of was a blow to Merz’s authority, which continued in favor of the law despite the warnings of party colleagues that he was in danger of being stained with the accusation of voting alongside the ultra right.
The main German parties had already joined the forces to prevent AFD, which is under the surveillance of German security services from reaching legislative power, something they call firewall against the ultra right.
The draft law would have restricted family regrouping for some refugees and required more people to be refused at the border.
Two thirds of the population support stronger immigration rules, according to recent research.
Merz argued that the bill was a necessary response to a series of high profile murders in public spaces by people with immigrant origin.
But the social democrats (SPD) and the green of Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the proposals would not have prevented the attacks and violated the European law.
On Saturday (1st), in many other German cities, including Hamburg, Stuttgart and Leipzig, in similar protests against CDU/CSU and AFD.
