The German national elections that sent shockwaves in Europe with the emergence of far-right Alternative for Democracy (AfD) as a mainstream party also saw how the party’s influence forced the centre-left and conservative parties to compromise on their long-held policies on welcoming refugees and other irregular immigrants.

Even its strident critics and political rivals couldn’t ignore the rise of AfD, which its political rivals wanted banned based on intelligence reports on its Nazi characteristics.

Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Centre-Left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and his incoming successor and possible coalition partner Friedrich Merz of the Centre-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) were among those who opposed irregular and illegal migration that AfD kept alive as the main election issue.

Then Chancellor Angela Merkel of the CDU had welcomed almost a million irregular migrants — most of them refugees from Syria — in 2015. In response, Germans opened their homes to the men, women and children who escaped their country ravaged by war.

Her successor, Scholz continued the policy of accepting refugees, although not in such numbers. But the honeymoon soon ended with AfD leveraging it and a handful of violent incidents involving the refugees.

Most of the refugees have since integrated with the society. Thousands of them even got German passports. But it’s the odd incidents of violence perpetrated by the migrants that the AfD shone its light on. The party’s social media reach amplified fears of migrants, especially Muslims, taking over Germany — an allegation with no substance.

But neither the SPD nor the CDU could continue defending their positions due to continuing incidents of violence.

A Saudi doctor killed six people and left 300 injured when he ploughed his car through a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg. An Afghan refugee stabbed and killed two people, including a two-year-old, in Aschaffenburg in January. A Syrian refugee was arrested after he stabbed a tourist in Berlin’s Holocaust memorial on the eve of the February 23 election.

These incidents during the run-up to the elections further bolstered the argument of AfD that Germany should deport all refugees, irregular migrants and even regularised migrants with criminal backgrounds.

The social-media savvy party co-led by outspoken lawmaker Alice Weidel ensured that the bigger rivals couldn’t ignore it. So much so that Scholz admitted that the country could not accommodate irregular migrants since too many asylum-seekers were heading to Germany.

Part of the European Union’s Schengen region, entry to Germany is visa free for anyone already in Europe. So asylum-seekers who arrive by boats to European coasts eventually move to bigger countries like Germany and France.

But Germany abruptly reinstated border control on September 16, 2024, apparently in response to periodic attacks by migrants and the AfD clamour.

Merz, the CDU chairman, who is set to take over as Chancellor in two months once he cobbles up a coalition — probably with SPD — later called for revisiting the Bürgergeld (citizen’s allowance) currently being paid to refugees.

He reiterated his plan to reduce the payment to refugees once he assumed charge as chancellor. If implemented, the curtailment would impact all refugees, even Ukrainians.

Merz led the CDU and its Bavarian sister-party Christian Social Union (CSU) to victory by polling 28.5 per cent of the votes cast on February 23.

But the biggest election story was AfD’s rise. The party doubled its vote share from 12.6 per cent in 2021 to 20.8 per cent this to finish second to the CDU/CSU combination.

The burgeoning support for AfD and its hard-right policies, including anti-migration and pro-Russia, has found support among the youths, especially male voters.

The impact of AfD and the odd violent incidents involving refugees was such that Merz moved a motion in the Parliament just a day after the Afghan refugee stabbed and killed two in Aschaffenburg.

He quickly mobilised his lawmakers and moved the non-binding motion against allowing asylum seekers and instead to turn them away from the borders, much to the dismay of all centrist and Left parties.

With not enough support to pass the motion, the AfD jumped to the rescue of Merz in yet another act that shocked the nation. Merz’s decision thus ended post-war Germany’s political firewall — the Brandmauer — that meant far-right elements would be kept at bay.

Merz’s party colleague and former Chancellor Merkel slammed his outrageous move to accept AfD’s support to pass his motion. But the European far-right couldn’t complain.

Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Victor Orban wrote on X: “Guten Morgen, Deutschland! Welcome to the club.” (Good morning, Germany!)

The motion being non-binding it remains to be seen if chancellor Merz would bring a follow-up legislation.

Merz, who repeatedly insisted he would never accept AfD’s support to form the government, promptly initiated coalition talks with SPD immediately after the elections.

The AfD will not be in power. But the party that everyone wants to be banned cannot be ignored since a fifth of the German voters have endorsed it.

Founded in 2013 by CDU rebels including professors and right-wing journalists, the AfD has since gone on to capture the imagination of a section of the population.

From its single agenda of being an anti-Euro party that wanted Germany to exit the Eurozone, it gradually lapped up sentiments against irregular migration and asylum to millions from war torn countries, especially the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Weidel, during her campaign, advocated large-scale repatriation of migrants who are either illegal, refugees, or those who haven’t integrated well in the country.

It remains to be seen how many irregular immigrants would Merz pack off their native countries to address the German far-right and its policies that have found favour with a fifth of those who cast their votes.