Two weeks ago, a debate in German parliament sparked nationwide protests after Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz pushed a non-binding motion toughening migration rules through parliament.

Here is a summary of the most likely coalitions and the compromises that will be necessary to reach agreement: A so-called grand coalition of the two big tent centrist parties, the CDU/CSU and Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) is seen as the most likely outcome.

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany will hold a snap national election on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition. Here are the main parties contending, their poll standings,

BERLIN — The Left party is experiencing an unexpected momentum boost less than two weeks before Germany’s national election. Nearly 23,500 people have joined the far-left party since the start of the year, according to figures first reported by Der Spiegel, pushing its total to a record 81,200 — the highest since 2009.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insists he would 'never' cooperate with the far right in the way he says his rival Friedrich Merz has done. Meanwhile, Merz said working with the AfD was out of the question.

Outside a disused lamp factory in the southeastern German village of Rott am Inn, four mannequins, including one holding a baby, are squashed against the wall next to two bunk beds.