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 of immigration.

Conservative CDU leader Friedrich Merz sparked outrage Wednesday when he pushed through parliament a resolution demanding sweeping curbs to immigration, relying for the first time on votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his allies the Greens denounced the vote as a breach of a taboo in post-war Germany against any cooperation with extremist parties.

News site Der Spiegel judged that "this day will not only change the election campaign but German politics as a whole".

Critics warned that Merz's manoeuvre would help legitimise the AfD and pave the way for more cooperation -- perhaps even in a government one day, mirroring developments elsewhere in Europe.

Merz argued that pragmatism must trump principle, and pointed to public fears after a series of deadly attacks blamed on asylum seekers, including a knife attack last week on a kindergarten group where the suspect is an Afghan........

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