Germany's parliament is expected to vote Friday on an opposition bill calling for tougher rules on migration that could become the first legislation to pass thanks to a far-right party — adding to a controversy about the attitude of the front-runner in Germany's upcoming election toward the far right.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A 99-year-old Holocaust survivor said on Thursday he would return his federal order of merit award to the German state in protest over a parliamentary vote in which support from the far-right was used for the first time to secure a majority.

Opening the door to leaning on support from the far-right is a gamble for Merz, who believes that his increasingly radical stance on migration will win back right-wingers who are tempted to vote for the AfD. But in so doing, he could risk losing support from the centre.

Polls show conservative leader Friedrich Merz’s Union leading ahead of the Feb. 23 election with around 30% support, while AfD is second with about 20%.

German election frontrunner Friedrich Merz succeeded on Wednesday in getting a motion passed in parliament that calls for a migration crackdown including the rejection of asylum seekers at the country's land borders.

We’ll be covering today’s vote on a divisive anti-immigration bill in Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. Conservative leader Friedrich Merz is taking a hard line and attempting to push through legislation with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Intensive high-level talks were under way in the German capital on Friday, hours ahead of a highly controversial planned vote on a package of migration reforms pushed by the centre-right opposition CDU/CSU bloc.