BERLIN (Reuters) - Friedrich Merz, hitherto favourite to become Germany's next chancellor, suffered a blow three weeks before a national election on Friday when 12 of his own legislators refused to support him in backing a migration bill that thereby failed to pass in parliament.
Merz, whose conservative bloc has held a comfortable lead in the polls throughout the campaign, had already caused dismay within his party for saying the law was so important he was prepared to pass it with support from the far-right, nativist Alternative for Germany (AfD).
