German opposition leader Friedrich Merz said he would seek to pass a disputed migration measure in parliament next week with any party willing to back it, a move critics say could break the firewall with the far right weeks before a federal election.

Opposition head Friedrich Merz is calling for reforms to Germany's migration laws after a deadly knife attack in which an Afghan man facing deportation is the main suspect - even if they pass with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The conservative leader wants to impose strict border controls after knife killings in Aschaffenburg this week.

Friedrich Merz, currently leading in polls to become German chancellor, said Thursday if elected he will impose strict border controls.

Germany’s opposition leader has vowed to bar people from entering the country without proper papers and to step up deportations if he is elected as chancellor next month.

After years in which Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been accused of treading lightly on European and world stages, conservative election front-runner Friedrich Merz has vowed a bold return to international affairs.

Mr Merz argued the need “to negotiate with the American side from a position of strength”. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Latest YouGov poll shows Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc commanding 28% of voter support, leading Chancellor Scholz's Social Democrats by 9 percentage points - Anadolu Ajansı

Germany's conservative opposition faced criticism Friday over reports that it was willing to accept the support of the far-right AfD party in a parliamentary vote on toughening migration rules. "The CDU and CSU have accepted my offer to vote together with the AfD in the Bundestag on the fateful issue of migration,

The answer is bleak. So, Merz’s main instrument for bringing back growth seems to be good vibes. "Economic policy is 50% psychology," he has said, exposing that part of the CDU’s economic agenda is to spread optimism and hope that this, in itself, will give companies confidence to invest.

The Trump administration plan to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization has triggered a hiring freeze, suspended investments and a travel reduction within the organization.