Bill calling for tougher rules on migration widely criticised for undermining ‘firewall’ against working with far right.

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.

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has slammed her conservative rival Friedrich Merz after a controversial bill on migration reform failed in parliament on Friday. Alice Weidel said the rejection of the vote,

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.

The German parliament rejected an opposition draft law on tightening immigration policy on Friday, two days after the opposition conservatives were accused of breaching an agreement against cooperating with the far right for the first time.

Germany's opposition conservatives won parliamentary approval on Wednesday for a proposal to drastically restrict migration with the help of votes from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), breaking a taboo on cooperation with the far-right.

Germany's conservative election frontrunner Friedrich Merz defiantly vowed Friday to pass a bill to restrict immigration with the support of the far-right AfD, repeating a tactic that has sparked an

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.