When the CDU motions passed on Wednesday evening, by four votes, an eerie silence hung for a moment over the Bundestag chamber. Then AfD parliamentarians began applauding what they see as the first chink of light in the CDU’s so-called “firewall” against political co-operation with them.

Election posters at a street in Duesseldorf, Germany, show the top candidates for chancellor, Robert Habeck of the Green Party, Friedrich Merz of the CDU and Olaf Scholz for the SPD, from left, prior the German federal Bundestag elections in February,

Conservatives have cooperated with the far-right AfD for the first time, amid growing support from the tech billionaire.

Friedrich Merz, the front-runner to become Germany’s next chancellor, relied on votes from the far-right AfD to push an anti-migration motion through parliament.

German opposition leader and Christian Union parties floor leader Friedrich Merz speaks after the debate and a voting about migration at the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday,

Alternative for Germany helped push an immigration restriction proposal over the threshold, breaking the "firewall" surrounding the right-wing party.

The Federal Network Agency invited platform operators to a round table with the EU Commission in Berlin. The aim was to protect the integrity of the election.

Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner to become chancellor in February's election, is making waves by agreeing to work with the far-right AfD on immigration rules.

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German conservative leader Friedrich Merz is set to take his hard-line immigration push to the next level despite a growing backlash over his move this week to force a resolution through parliament with backing from the far right.

Germany's parliament narrowly passed a resolution Wednesday urging tough restrictions on immigration that was especially controversial because it was backed by the far-right AfD