Migration policy: Scholz: Individual right to asylum remains

Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not want to shake the individual right to asylum. “The individual right to asylum remains intact. That is written in our constitution. And no one will question that with my support,” said the SPD politician in the ZDF “heute journal”. Scholz made this statement a few hours after a conversation with CDU leader Friedrich Merz. Against the backdrop of the suspected Islamist attack in Solingen on Friday that left three people dead, Merz had called for, among other things, a general freeze on the admission of refugees from Syria and Afghanistan – on Tuesday evening Merz then spoke of a “de facto freeze on admissions”.

SPD interior politician considers Merz’s offer for election campaign

During the conversation, Merz suggested to the Chancellor a joint reorientation of migration policy – if necessary without the traffic light partners Greens and FDP, which was tantamount to a demand for a coalition break. A clear acceptance or rejection from Scholz is still pending. SPD interior politician Dirk Wiese, meanwhile, told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “In difficult times, this country is characterized by the fact that the government and the opposition can overcome party boundaries.” But this must be presented with full seriousness. “The call for a coalition break is more due to the elections on Sunday. I regret this very much. It does not do justice to the current task.” State elections are taking place in Saxony and Thuringia on Sunday.

FDP sees strong overlaps with Merz’s proposals

FDP leader Christian Lindner, on the other hand, was open to Merz’s proposals. He told Bild: “The FDP is prepared to make cross-party efforts to consistently enforce new realism in migration at the federal and state levels. Mr Merz’s proposals on migration are very similar to those of the FDP.” Lindner also reiterated: “We also propose that Dublin refugees such as the perpetrator in Solingen should no longer be paid social benefits in Germany so that they can travel to the relevant EU country.”

Greens criticize Merz’s choice of words

The parliamentary manager of the Green Party, Irene Mihalic, was basically open to talks, but criticized Merz’s tone. “The leader of the largest opposition faction is stirring up trouble (…) instead of living up to his responsibility,” she told the “Bild” newspaper. Green Party faction leader Britta Haßelmann told the German Press Agency: “All democratic parties have a responsibility to decisively combat the dangers of Islamist terror. The federal and state governments share responsibility for this.” Targeted measures and real solutions are needed. That is what it should be about, “not about profiling yourself,” she said, without mentioning Merz by name.

Merz now calls for a “de facto admission freeze”

Merz, meanwhile, defended his proposal for a freeze on the admission of refugees from Syria and Afghanistan in principle – but now only speaks of a “de facto freeze on admission” that his proposals would lead to. “We are not calling for a change to the asylum law in the Basic Law,” says a four-page “questions and answers” paper that Merz sent to the members of his party’s federal executive board after his meeting with Scholz and which was obtained by the German Press Agency in Berlin.

According to dpa information, the party leader’s initiative also led to questions within his own ranks about how such a ban on admissions was legally possible. Merz made his demand at the weekend – shortly after the suspected Islamist attack in Solingen. The suspected perpetrator is a 26-year-old Syrian who is now in custody. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is investigating him for murder and on suspicion of membership in the terrorist group IS, which claimed responsibility for the attack. The suspected perpetrator should actually have been deported to Bulgaria, but this did not happen.