Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Friedrich Merz, her successor as leader of the country’s conservatives, on Thursday for pushing through a bill on tighter immigration control with the help of the far right.

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday criticized her opposition centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) for passing a motion in parliament for hard-line reforms to migration policy with votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The former chancellor has slammed her conservative CDU party for passing a migration motion with help of the far-right AfD. Merkel blamed party leader Friedrich Merz for going back on a pledge not to work with the AfD.

Polls show conservative leader Friedrich Merz’s Union leading ahead of the Feb. 23 election with around 30% support, while AfD is second with about 20%.

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has criticized her centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) for passing a motion in parliament calling for hard-line reforms to migration policy with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

As Germans prepare to vote on Feb. 23, an almighty argument over whether mainstream parties should work with the anti-immigration AfD is threatening to upend politics in Europe’s most powerful