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Who is Friedrich Merz? Germany's front-runner who flirted with far right

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Friedrich Merz is the front-runner to be Germany 's next prime minister.

The 69-year-old 's bid to tighten migration rules with the support of far-right votes in parliament reveals a man willing to gamble by breaking a major taboo.

Merz was sidelined by Angela Merkel before she became chancellor.

He quit parliament entirely to pursue a lucrative series of corporate jobs.

Friedrich Merz pushed through a motion on tougher immigration rules by relying on votes from the far-right.

His move led to mass protests and has been condemned by none other than Merkel herself.

He has risked alienating more moderate parts of the electorate before, voting in the 1990s against a bill that included the criminalisation of marital rape.

Polls suggest he is not especially popular among young people and women.