1h ago
16.27 CET
'We have
a massive problem with crime by foreigners,' Merz says, calling for urgent
action
Responding
to Scholz, opposition leader and favourite to be the next chancellor Friedrich
Merz said that if the words of sympathy and condolences in the Bundestag are to
be meaningful, they need “effective decisions to be taken.”
“In Germany
we have a massive problem of crime committed by foreigners, particularly among
asylum seekers,” he said.
In his
comments, Merz sought to draw a clear distinction between asylum seekers and
“people with migration background,” who he said “would not be right to mention
in the same sentence as criminal asylum seekers.”
He rejected
Scholz’s complaints about the state of law, by mockingly saying “you are not
the highest notary of the republic; you are the federal chancellor.”
“If the laws
are not sufficient, then you must make suggestions for changing the laws, and
not explain what the existing laws cannot do,” he said.
Merz warned
that “the entire European immigration and asylum system has become
dysfunctional,” and the attacks in Magdeburg and Aschaffenburg made him
determined to “really make every attempt” to change the situation.
“How many
more people have to be murdered? How many more children have to fall victims to
such acts of violence before you believe that this is a threat to public safety
and order?,” he asked.
He argued
the situation justified to use of extraordinary powers under EU treaties for
“the maintenance of law and order and the safeguarding of internal security.”
He said that
if his proposals get majority support, partially due to votes from the
far-right AfD, that would make him “extremely uncomfortable,” but insisted this
was necessary to deal with violence.
He told
parliament that the sight of “cheering and grinning AfD MPs will be unbearable”
but maintained that “a correct decision does not become wrong just because the
wrong people agree, it remains right”.
He said he
was no longer prepared to allow other parties to dictate what proposals and
with whose support can be passed.
3h ago
15.02 CET
Scholz's
speech in Bundestag on migration - snap analysis
Kate
Connolly
Berlin
correspondent
Listing
Aschaffenburg as the latest in a string of attacks by migrants – in Mannheim,
Solingen, Magdeburg and Aschaffenburg – Scholz said he understood the shock and
consternation that people felt, as well as vexation over the fact that “once
again”, the attack had been “carried out by someone who shouldn’t have been
here,” a reference to the fact that in several cases, the perpetrators had been
due to be deported, but this had not happened.
“I
understand anyone who says: ‘I’ve had enough,’ said Scholz, adding: “I too am
enraged”.
But he went
on to say that all four of the attacks “could have been avoided” under existing
laws which had been tightened under the Scholz government, if they had been
properly and swiftly implemented by the authorities in the various states in
which the attacks took place, all of which are governed by the CDU/CSU.
Scholz said
under his government many more deportations had taken place, including a
planeload of Afghans, convicted of crimes in Germany, stating that Germany was
“the only country in Europe which has been able to deport criminals to
Afghanistan. It’s damned hard to do with a Taliban government but we managed
it.”
He urged
Merz not to fall into the trap of depending on the AfD for support to push
through his motions to tighten Germany’s migration policy, citing in particular
a letter written by the leaders of Germany’s Protestant and Catholic churches,
warning that the party was departing from the ‘Christian’ in its name by
supporting the motions.
He also
warned of developments in neighbouring Austria, where the conservatives there
have, he said, broken pre-election promises not to work with the far-right FPÖ,
the Austrian equivalent of the AfD, but was now on the verge of entering a
coalition with it.
3h ago
14.58 CET
German
debate on migration and border controls - explainer
Kate
Connolly
What is
happening in the Bundestag this afternoon?
The
conservative CDU/CSU alliance, under the leadership of Friedrich Merz, who
according to opinion polls is the favourite to become Germany’s chancellor
following elections on February 23, has submitted two motions which, if passed,
could result in a 180 degree switch in Germany’s migration policy, and could
have a ripple effect across Europe.
The sense of
urgency around the issues, which have been dominating the political landscape
for some time, and reflect the wider debate across Europe, are due to events
last week in the city of Aschaffenburg in which a two year old girl and a 41
year old man were murdered when an Afghan migrant lunged at them in a park with
a kitchen knife. The 28 year old who is in police custody had been due for
deportation. He had also been receiving help for a psychological condition.
The
circumstances around the attack – and the fact that it is the latest in a
series of attacks involving migrants who were known to authorities – have
prompted accusations of state failure on many levels, with plenty of people in
positions of authority insisting it could have been prevented.
The motions
put forward by Merz call for the rejection of all illegal migrants and asylum
seekers, wherever they have come from, on all of Germany’s nine borders with
its neighbours. The motions would also seek to broaden the powers of the
security authorities to ease the process of rejection and deportation.
Scholz’s
SPD/Greens minority government has refused to back the proposals, saying that
it too has a raft of reform proposals on which the CDU/CSU has refused to
engage at all, despite Scholz’s appeal for cooperation so that they could be
pushed through before the election.
It’s
important to note that Merz’s proposals would not put the government of Olaf
Scholz’s SPDs and Greens under obligation to act on them. But if the
conservatives’ motions got majority support in the Bundestag it would greatly
escalate tensions between the CDU and Scholz’s government and would give Merz
the upper hand in terms of trying to push the motion into law, the process of
which could start as early as Friday.
The real
drama around today’s debate though is about who Merz will get support from. If
as it has signalled, the far-right populist AfD lends him their support,
opponents of the CDU/CSU leader say he will have effectively broken the
so-called ‘firewall’ – on which he has said he will stake his political fate –
the promise, along with other mainstream parties, that he will never work with
the AfD.
A poll shows
that 66% of Germans support Merz’s plan.
If his
motion is successful, what then?
The CDU/CSU
could get a wafer-thin majority with the help of the pro-business FDP, and the
AfD, which said yesterday it was planning to vote in favour of the motions. The
backing of the left-wing conservative BSW, which had not yet publicly made up
its mind by this morning whether it would support Merz, would also be needed.
If he loses,
this will be a humiliating defeat for Merz.
The
Bundesrat or Upper House’s backing would be required to approve the law. The
earliest date for a next sitting of that house would be 14 February, nine days
ahead of the general election. However, they are not likely to approve it
because the CDU/CSU does not have a majority there.
But, once
the election has taken place on 23 February, the political landscape could look
decidedly different.
The CDU/CSU
would have effectively laid the ground for the law and would be potentially in
a position to adopt the law with a new coalition partner. This is not unlikely
to be the SPD, as a junior partner in a grand coalition.
In which
case it is expected that in order to make it more palatable for the SPD, the
law could be watered down in parts. Seeing as a large number of SPD voters are
in general in favour of tightening the law, the SPD might find its hand is
forced so that it too will end up supporting an asylum stop.
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