The chairman of the party and fraction of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, gives a press conference in the German parliament in Berlin, in reaction to the knife attack on January 22 in Aschaffenburg.

The conservative leader wants to impose strict border controls after knife killings in Aschaffenburg this week.

Friedrich Merz and his conservatives view Angela Merkel’s legacy as a liability in their battle with the far right.

The country's upcoming vote could determine the future of its struggling economy and Europe's political stability

Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), firmly rejected any cooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an interview with public broadcaster ARD on Friday evening.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz has demanded fundamental changes to migration policy and a dramatic increase in deportations after the deadly stabbing in the southern city of Aschaffenburg.

Friedrich Merz, the conservative frontrunner to replace Chancellor Olaf Scholz after Germany's upcoming elections, is calling on the European Union to present a united front in response to US President-elect Donald Trump.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has darkened the mood in Germany a month before elections, as multiple crises shake the foundations on which Europes

Mr Merz argued the need “to negotiate with the American side from a position of strength”. Read more at straitstimes.com.

However, some Germans blame the CDU, and in particular Merz's predecessor and longtime chancellor Angela Merkel, for encouraging the large-scale influx of asylum seekers and migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Afghanistan, in 2015.

Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner to become chancellor after Germany’s snap election next month, will take his campaign pitch to the World Economic Forum next week.

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.