On Sunday (February 2), around 160.000 people took to the streets of Berlin demanding a "fire wall" against the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), just three weeks before the early elections for the Bundestag.
Thus, the entire weekend in Germany was marked by demonstrations. Protests took place in Saarbrücken, Kiel, Potsdam, Ulm, and on Saturday, large rallies were held in Hamburg, Cologne, Essen, Leipzig, Stuttgart and many other cities.
Protesters in Berlin passed by the party headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), carrying posters criticizing the party's leader, Friedrich Merz.
Some posters read "five minutes to 1933," alluding to the National Socialists' rise to power.
On others, Merz was admonished to listen to "Muti," as former Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose rival Merz was within the party, is affectionately and somewhat mockingly called.
These are reactions to a turbulent week in the Bundestag, before which Merz – the favorite to be the next chancellor – presented several proposals to curb migration, knowing that they could only pass with the votes of the AfD.
Sixteen abstentions
On Wednesday, a non-binding proposal was voted on to the outgoing Social Democratic government of Olaf Scholz to control the entire border due to "endangered national security", to not allow anyone into the country without documents, and to detain migrants awaiting deportation.
Under the influence of harsh criticism, Merco did not pass a bill on Friday to ban the immigration of families of refugees who have so-called subsidiary protection, or temporary humanitarian residence, because there is a state of war in their countries.
Only 338 MPs voted for the proposal, while 349 voted against. The vote was decided by the abstention of 16 Christian Democrat MPs, some of whom said that while they considered the measures to be correct, they did not want to achieve a majority with AfD votes.
During heated debates in parliament, Chancellor Scholz accused Merz of "out of emotion" canceling the consensus that prevailed in post-war Germany, that there is no cooperation with undemocratic parties. Scholz called Merz's proposals for a tougher migration policy "illegal."
Scholz, who is running another race for chancellor as a heavy outsider after the infamous collapse of the ruling coalition he led, has repeatedly reiterated that he does not trust Merck and that there is a danger that he will forge a coalition with the AfD after the election.
Merck, however, countered that there was no question of making a pact with the AfD, and that it was actually up to the Social Democrats and Greens government to take some steps after a series of deadly attacks committed by migrants.
Speaking about this, Merc used a poker expression. He said he was going "all in", meaning all or nothing - so whoever supports his proposals, supports them.
Responding to the protests, Merck called for demonstrations to remain peaceful and said he would speak to political opponents where they should be – in parliament. "It is normal that we have controversies in Germany," Merck said.
"The Party of Hate"
But it is precisely Merc's desire to show himself in the campaign as an active politician who will respond to the challenges of migration - which Germans consider the most important issue - that could backfire on him.
He has already drawn criticism from the Catholic and Evangelical Churches, a serious blow to the leader of a Christian Democratic party. The well-known publicist Michel Friedman, former president of the European Jewish Congress, has resigned from the party.
In a speech at the protests in Berlin, Friedman called the AfD a "party of hate" and described the fact that the Christian Democrats voted with them as an "unforgivable mistake."
The weekly magazine Spiegel commented that Merz had made a "fascinating political mistake" now that he was almost seen as chancellor.
A commentator for the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung thinks differently, namely that democracy is harmed even if nothing is done about migration.
"The AfD's successes and growing distrust in our political order are also based on the conviction of many citizens that the traditional parties in the Bundestag have been describing the problem of uncontrolled migration in detail for years, but are not solving it," the newspaper writes.
Who profits?
It is too early to assess whether Merc miscalculated or, conversely, gained additional sympathy from the silent electorate.
Political scientist Volker Kronenberg believes that the AfD is still benefiting from this. "Because other parties have not been able to make changes in migration policy. And this topic is very important to citizens," he told the t-online portal.
The latest polls – albeit before these protests – show that the Christian Democrats remain the favorites in the elections and can count on around 30 percent of the vote. The right-wing AfD is likely to be the second strongest party with around 22 percent.
The Social Democrats and the Greens, the backbone of the least popular government in history, fell to around 16 and 14 percent, respectively.
The Liberals, the Left and the Alliance of Sarah Wagenknecht will fight to pass the threshold.
If nothing major changes, it is clear that only Merc can be the prime minister. He will not be allowed to go so far as to invite the AfD into the fold, so the only option left for him is to persuade either the Social Democrats or the Greens to be his junior partner.
That's why one of the questions is whether Merz had to make such moves in the middle of the campaign that have no practical consequences for politics. And whether he will pay dearly for it by making it more difficult to form a coalition government.
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