Merkel Jolts German Campaign With Broadside of Her Party Leader

(Bloomberg) -- Former Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed into Germany’s contentious election campaign, sharply criticizing fellow Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz over his decision to force through a hard-line immigration resolution in parliament with votes from the far right.

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Even though the motion was non-binding, it was the first time since World War II a mainstream party had relied on a far-right group to clinch a majority and triggered a chorus of outrage that could upend the campaign for the Feb. 23 snap national ballot.

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In an extremely rare direct intervention in politics since her final term ended in 2021, Merkel published an open letter Thursday saying that Merz — the conservative leader and election frontrunner — should have stuck by a proposal he made that would have prevented any parliamentary majority that required the backing of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany.

“It’s wrong to no longer feel bound by this proposal and thus, for the first time, to allow a majority with the votes of the AfD in a vote in the German Bundestag,” Merkel said.

Critics have accused Merz of breaking a taboo in German postwar politics and compromising a firewall erected by mainstream parties designed to keep the AfD out of power. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is seeking reelection for the Social Democrats, said Wednesday that “there are limits one must not cross as a statesman.”

Merz, who heads the center-right CDU/CSU bloc, has justified his effort to overhaul migration policy by saying last week’s fatal knife attack in Bavaria — apparently perpetrated by a 28-year-old Afghan man whose asylum request had been rejected — proved radical action is needed.

He’s also trying to lure voters away from the AfD, which is currently second in the polls ahead of Scholz’s SPD and the Greens, and has made no secret of his wish to reverse Merkel’s migration policy that facilitated the arrival of thousands of refugees from countries like Syria and Afghanistan.

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Merkel and Merz have shared a bitter rivalry over the years. After Merkel’s ascent to the CDU party leadership in 2000 following a party funding scandal, she ousted Merz from his post as caucus leader in the Bundestag two years later.

He left politics, embarking on a private-sector career that included his years as supervisory board chairman for BlackRock Inc.’s German unit, watching from the sidelines as Merkel shifted the party to the political center over four terms in office.

When Merkel first announced her plan to leave the political stage in 2019, Merz moved quickly to succeed her as party leader – and twice failed.

The CDU’s resounding defeat to Scholz’s SPD in 2021 finally paved his way to the top of the party and he set about returning it to what he viewed as its conservative roots, above all on migration.

Asked in a November interview with Der Spiegel magazine whether Merz has what it takes, Merkel responded dryly: “He now has to lead a campaign in which he can prove he can.”

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In Thursday’s letter, Merkel seemed to give tacit backing to Scholz and the Greens, who have argued that Merz’s proposals are unconstitutional and contravene European Union law.

Referring to the Bavaria attack, in which two people including a two-year-old child were killed, Merkel urged “all democratic parties to work together across party political boundaries.”

“Not as tactical maneuvers, but honestly, moderately in tone and on the basis of applicable European law, to do everything possible to prevent such terrible attacks in the future,” she added.

Spokespeople for Merz didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reacting to Merkel’s letter, Saskia Esken, a co-leader of Scholz’s SPD, told reporters in Berlin that the former German leader had “obviously felt that she had to remind Friedrich Merz of his political responsibility.”

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“I am very grateful to her for her intervention,” Esken said, adding that she hoped Merz would reconsider putting a separate immigration law to a vote in parliament on Friday. That could also pass with backing from the AfD and other opposition parties.

A survey for public broadcaster ZDF published Thursday suggested German voters are evenly split on Merz’s drive for tougher migration rules.

Among 1,428 voters polled Jan. 27-29 by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, 47% said he’s right to accept AfD backing in parliament, while 48% said he’s wrong. About two-thirds think direct cooperation with the AfD should be ruled out.

--With assistance from Patrick Donahue and Chris Reiter.

(Updates with SPD comments, background.)

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