The former German chancellor said it was not right to remain silent after her party, the conservative CDU, relied on votes from the far-right AfD to pass a motion in parliament.Former German leader Angela Merkel has reiterated her criticism of chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz after he relied on votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany party

Last week, the CDU broke the mainstream parties' so-called firewall of noncooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, as it relied on votes from AfD members in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, to pass a nonbinding vote on tougher border and asylum rules.

Friedrich Merz, the favourite to become Germany's next chancellor, said on Monday that he is ready to lead the country as his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) assembled in Berlin for a party conference weeks ahead of national elections.

Support for Germany's conservative bloc fell by 2 percentage points to 28% within a week, a survey showed on Tuesday after its lead candidate Friedrich Merz used the backing of the far-right to get plans for a migration crackdown through parliament.

The front-runner in Germany’s upcoming election says the far-right Alternative for Germany is his “most important opponent” and his party will “never” work with it

The centre-right CDU has been accused of breaking 'taboo' by putting forward a motion to the Bundestag for a stricter migration policy which was backed by the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD).

Germany's election frontrunner Friedrich Merz on Monday called on his conservative CDU to "stay the course" after mass protests against its acceptance of far-right AfD support for calls to restrict immigration.