Protesters accuse Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats of breaking Germany’s unwritten post-Nazi promise to never pass any rule or resolution in parliament with support of far-right, nationalist

The bill’s defeat — after Merz secured the passage of a similar motion on Wednesday — suggests that some of his own parliamentary group voted against the bill. All of which puts him in an uncomfortable position little more than three weeks from an election that has looked like his to lose.

Thousands of people protested in Berlin on Sunday against plans to limit immigration proposed by opposition conservatives and supported by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).