Germany: What is the 'AfD firewall'?

Since the end of World War II and the Holocaust, there has been a consensus among Germany's main political parties that the far and extreme right must never be allowed in government again. This so-called firewall has also extended to open collaboration with far-right parties in any capacity.

However, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) breached what has become known as the "AfD firewall" on Wednesday when party leader Friedrich Merz put forward a motion for strict immigration laws, which passed with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Speaking with public broadcaster ARD, Social Democrat (SPD) Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused Merz of ending a decadeslong consensus in Germany "that there would be no cooperation between democratic parties and the extreme right."

The "firewall" has fallen, Scholz said.

CDU immigration resolution passes with AfD support

Scholz has been leading a minority government with the Greens since November, after the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) withdrew from the coalition over a budget spat.

The government collapse triggered Germany's snap election, scheduled for February 23. Merz's CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, have a strong lead in the polling at about 30%.

The conservatives have made immigration reform a cornerstone of their campaign, following two deadly knife attacks in Germany where the suspected assailants were rejected asylum-seekers scheduled for deportation. On Wednesday, Merz went ahead and put forward the asylum reform measures in a non-binding motion. The AfD had made it known they would support the measure, and party co-leader Alice Weidel even wrote on social media site X ahead of the vote that her party had coordinated with the CDU.

Ahead of the vote, Merz repeatedly stated he did not care who supported his resolution as long as it passed — which it did, with votes from his bloc, the AfD and some members of the FDP. Afterward, the CDU leader said he very much regretted that the AfD had helped him gain the majority.

Merz had sworn off AfD cooperation

At its national conference in 2018, the CDU made the "AfD firewall" official party policy by adopting what it called the "incompatibility resolution." It states: "The CDU in Germany rejects coalitions and similar forms of cooperation with both the Left Party and the Alternative for Germany."

Immediately after the collapse of Scholz's coalition, Merz reaffirmed this policy by saying he would not introduce any bills before the election where the AfD could play the role of kingmaker.

Wednesday's motion was not a legally binding bill, but rather a "motion for resolution" that is meant to express the will of parliament. However, a formal amendment to Germany's immigration law is up for debate in the Bundestag on Friday. Again, the CDU, AfD, FDP and populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) are likely to vote in favor.

A 'firewall' only at the national level?

Despite repeated claims that there is a "firewall" against the AfD, political scientists have pointed out that almost all of Germany's political parties — most commonly the CDU — have openly worked with the far right in state parliaments and at the local level. For example, a highly controversial hijab ban in elementary schools in one district of Berlin was made possible by cooperation between the AfD and the CDU.

Recently, researchers Anika Taschke and Steven Hummel published a list of 120 incidents in which other parties had openly collaborated with the AfD between 2019 and 2023.

Speaking with public broadcaster ARD after Wednesday's vote, Merz denied claims from the AfD that his party had courted their opinion. He denied cooperating with the far right, saying that the CDU had simply presented its own policy, one that the AfD just happens to agree with.

"A firewall is the wrong image," he said, adding that he wants to prevent "a conflagration throughout Germany" and that most Germans approve of tougher immigration laws.

Merz is 'wrong', says Merkel

Former CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has rarely commented on currents events since retiring from politics in 2021, gave a rare statement on Thursday expressing her disapproval of Merz's actions.

In her statement, she wrote that Merz assured her in November that he would not work with parties considered on the far left and far right. She said he was "wrong" to break his pledge.

As for the German public, it is deeply divided over the country's traditional parties cooperating with the AfD. According to a poll published Thursday by public broadcaster ZDF, some 47% of German voters have no problem with the behavior of the CDU/CSU. Another 47% said they were troubled by it.

At the same time, 71% of voters said they agreed with the statement that the AfD is a threat to democracy.

This article was originally written in German.