Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats ... On Friday, the gambit ended in a crushing legislative defeat for Mr. Merz, dissent in his own party and jubilant claims of new legitimacy from ...

The sweat was dripping off Friedrich Merz after the frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor saw his bid to outflank an ascendant far right spectacularly backfire in the Bundestag.

BERLIN — Friedrich Merz, the conservative frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor, suffered a major political defeat on Friday as his controversial immigration bill backed by the far right was ...

Friedrich Merz broke a political taboo by aligning with the AfD on immigration, winning a symbolic vote but facing backlash and a major legislative defeat. German Christian Democratic Union (CDU ...

Friedrich Merz’s hard-line shift on migration is a calculated gambit by the German conservative leader to neutralize the far right and deliver a breakthrough with wavering voters, according to ...