BERLIN — With Germany’s election less than a month away, center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz has thrown cold water on the prospect of reviving the country’s traditional grand coalition — bluntly declaring that he “can’t trust” conservative leader Friedrich Merz anymore.

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.

Chancellor Scholz says rival Merz joining forces with far-right party in parliament to introduce stricter migration legislation ahead of Feb. 23 elections - Anadolu Ajansı

Germany’s parliament has narrowly approved a call by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s main challenger to turn back many more migrants at the country’s borders, with the help of a far-right party.

Responding to the killing of a child, the poll-leading Christian Democrats are pushing to overhaul migration laws — possibly with votes from the Alternative for Germany.

Germany's conservative opposition leader was set Friday to again seek far-right support in parliament on the flashpoint issue of immigration, after his first effort sparked widespread condemnation and street protests.

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,

Shugaban gwamnatin Jamus kuma dan takarar jam'iyyar SPD a zaben gabanin wa'adi, ya caccaki abokin hamyyarsa na CDU mai adawa Friedrich Merz, kan manufofinsa na kulla kawance da jam'iyyar masu kyamar baki ta AfD.

Germany's ex-chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in Thursday on a controversy flaring ahead of February elections, slamming her party successor for relying on far-right support on the flashpoint issue

For the first time, a resolution in the Bundestag has achieved a majority with the assistance of the far-right AfD. The party voted in favour of the migration plans put forward by the Christian Democrats and their candidate for chancellor.

German Holocaust survivor Eva Umlauf appealed in an open letter on Thursday to conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz not to align his centre-right CDU/CSU bloc with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass legislation.