Dentist statements: Where Merz has a point

When I was young, I was extremely afraid of flying for a while. Weeks before a trip, I could barely sleep and could hardly think of anything else. When the time came, I panicked. I spent several flights in tears.

Why am I telling you this? Because the debate about Friedrich Merz reminds me of that. The CDU leader had claimed that rejected asylum seekers would take dentist appointments away from Germans. What followed was to be expected: a heated debate in which all sides insulted each other.

The CDU largely rallied behind its leader and accused critics of denying reality. For representatives of other parties, it was an opportunity to attack Merz as a racist. Some doctors agreed with Merz, others contradicted him, including the Federal Dental Association.

I consider Friedrich Merz’s words to be negligent. They only serve to reinforce the false impression: “Foreigners are taking everything away from us”. It is significant that the racist caricature of the “parasite asylum seeker at the dentist” was previously used by the AfD. The fact that German patients are left behind because of rejected asylum seekers appears to be – if at all – an isolated phenomenon. And it is wrong to pillory people who legally use our medical care.

When are we overwhelmed?

But behind the discussion lies another question. How many strangers can a society accept without being overwhelmed? The corona pandemic, inflation, the effects of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis have demanded a lot from the people in this country. Quite a few have the impression that they have reached the limits of their resilience.

Surveys show that inflation, rising food prices and unaffordable housing – in short: the fear of decline and impoverishment – are currently among the biggest concerns of Germans. It’s logical that many people feel like they can’t continue to share everything generously.

At the same time, the number of asylum seekers in Germany is increasing significantly again. We are still a long way from the numbers from 2016: Back then, over 720,000 initial applications for asylum were made; So far in 2023 there have been just over 200,000. But this reference ignores the fact that of the many who came back then, the vast majority are still here. And in the meantime, over a million Ukrainian refugees arrived.

Who wants to feel like they’re being ignored?

It’s a bit like constantly having strangers stay in a relative’s house. But never ask him if he agrees with it. And scold him when he complains that he’s starting to feel a little cramped. Or explain to him that he shouldn’t behave like that, his house is big enough after all. I can understand if this makes some people angry. Who wants to constantly feel like they’re being ignored?

We must be able to openly discuss the boundaries of a society (the literal and the perceived) without always immediately accusing ourselves of being “racists” or “do-gooders”. The sooner we manage to negotiate this calmly and respectfully, the greater the chance that the country will not become even more divided.

Because it is also clear: in order to accept refugees, a society must be willing to integrate them. If this will is lost by the majority, it will no longer work – to the detriment of both sides.

With his populist statements, Merz has put his finger in this wound. The problem is that – to stay with the metaphor – he didn’t wash his hands beforehand. Rather, he fumbled around in it thoughtlessly and septically, accepting that all sorts of germs would penetrate the wound and that this would then result in an even more dangerous infection.

But it is just as dangerous to pretend that there is no wound at all. Anyone who constantly tells people that they have no reason to feel hurt, scared or worried is not taking them seriously. And that’s not much better than those who convince people that all their fears correspond to reality. History has shown where this leads in the worst case. Spoiler: Not that the people with their fears and worries were better off. On the contrary.

Which brings us back to my fear of flying. Luckily, I was surrounded by people who didn’t make fun of me or despise me for my panic. Who didn’t present me with statistics that show that getting in a car is much more dangerous than taking a plane, or, on the contrary, explained to me that I was totally right and that all planes would be banned if they had something to say. I was able to talk to them about my fears. They were by my side when I got on the plane.

And one day the fear was gone again.