After the collapse of the so-called “Zustrombegrenzungsgesetz”, CDU leader Friedrich Merz defended his actions. The vote, even with AfD votes, was a “normal procedure”, he said to the Heute-Journal on Friday. “That’s how democracy works”, he added.
At the same time, Merz distanced himself from the accusation of cooperation between CDU and AfD: “The Union factions and the AfD have not had a majority in the Bundestag, even if this is occasionally presented differently”.
Regarding the fact that the joint vote of CDU/CSU, FDP and AfD members in the Bundestag on Wednesday had led to protests and prominent party departures, Merz replied: “I was not ‘walking in the AfD’s garden'”. He had instead intensively lobbied the SPD and Greens factions for a change in immigration policy before the vote.
Merz rejects the hint at an “authority loss” within his party: “Even if all colleagues had voted in favor, we would still not have won the vote today”. In total, 338 members of parliament voted in favor of the law and 349 against it. Twelve Union parliamentarians abstained. “I found it was a good hour for the parliament”, Merz concluded.