SPEECH - Bundestag Votes On CDU-Sponsored Bill On Immigration And Border Security

BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 31: (SPEECH) (PART 1) Leading member of the German Free Democrats (FDP) Wolfgang Kubicki, speaks in the Bundestag as Friedrich Merz, chancellor candidate and leader of the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), seemed to be failing to gather broader support for a CDU/CSU-sponsored series of measures concerning immigration and border security prior to a vote at the Bundestag on January 31, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Merz introduced the measures as a motion on Wednesday that carried thanks to the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The calculated move was unprecedented and has sparked a nationwide public outcry and condemnation from other political parties. Merz's legislative initiative follows the recent stabbing by an immigrant in Aschaffenburg that left two people dead. Germany is scheduled to hold snap federal parliamentary elections on February 23. (Footage by Christian Ender/Getty Images)