Migration debate: SPD accuses Merz of division

In the dispute over tightening migration policy, the SPD is sharply attacking the Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz. “By accepting AfD votes, he is not only throwing the current principles of the Union overboard, but is also dividing the democratic center and sending a fatal signal to our European partners,” said SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch to the editorial network Germany (RND). . Merz is neither statesmanlike nor far-sighted.

SPD leader Saskia Esken told the Funke media group that Merz was playing with fire and trying to blackmail the democratic parties by threatening to collaborate with the right-wing extremists of the AfD. “Friedrich Merz shows once again that he is not up to the responsibility that the office of Chancellor requires.”

Why Merz is under attack

Merz is criticized because he said he would submit proposals to tighten migration and security policy to the Bundestag, “regardless of who agrees to them.” The AfD then declared that the “firewall” had fallen.

In a motion for the immediate implementation of a five-point plan, the Union sharply differentiates itself from the AfD: “The AfD uses problems, concerns and fears that have arisen from mass illegal migration to stir up xenophobia and spread conspiracy theories bring to.” The Union also creates distance from the AfD in a second draft application with security policy demands.

These are the five points in the application:

Permanent border controls to all neighboring countries Entry ban for all people without valid entry documents – even if they express a request for protection. Those required to leave the country should be imprisoned and deportations should take place daily. The federal government must support the states in enforcing the obligation to leave the country, for example by obtaining travel documents. Federal exit centers are to be created. Criminals and those at risk who are required to leave the country should remain in indefinite detention until they voluntarily return to their home country or the deportation can be carried out.

Bundestag sessions with government declaration from Wednesday

The plenary session in the Bundestag will meet from Wednesday. The applications are not yet on the agenda. It is unclear whether the Union proposals will find a majority. The FDP and BSW boss Sahra Wagenknecht signaled their approval, but that would not be a majority. Merz also announced a draft law.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to make a government statement on Wednesday on the consequences of the knife attack that left two dead and two seriously injured in Aschaffenburg. A 28-year-old Afghan man who was required to leave the country was arrested as the perpetrator. After the crime, the debate about migration policy was reignited.

The SPD plans to present security laws. “This week we are once again presenting sensible security laws that have previously been rejected by the Union or not considered urgent, including expanded powers for the federal police and the implementation of the European asylum reform,” Miersch told the RND. “We want to talk about these proposals with all democratic factions in the Bundestag.”

The interior ministers of the federal states and the federal government are already discussing the security situation in Germany in a digital meeting.

Paus: Merz’s course is scaring millions of people

The Greens also have strong concerns about the Union’s proposals. “This course by Friedrich Merz scares millions of people in our country. It must be possible to find majorities within the democratic spectrum for the major challenges facing our country,” said Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) to the RND. After the Union’s proposal to “remove German passports from dual nationals, this is another clear signal that the Merz Union is turning sharply to the right.”

Green Party candidate for chancellor Robert Habeck warned of an end to the rule of law. “The applications are in part contrary to European law or unconstitutional, and you cannot break the law with your eyes open and then change the law,” he said in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. This is not a “tactical election game” because the proposals can be passed with a simple majority in the Bundestag.

“Then the Union, AfD, FDP and BSW would create these majorities and, in my view, the Union would have broken a democratic taboo,” said the Economics Minister.

Linnemann defends plans

CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann called on the governing parties, the Greens and SPD, to approve a bill on rejections. “Anyone who leaves the issue of migration to the fringes is playing their game. We won’t do that,” he told “Bild”. You are experiencing a new dimension of brutality in Germany. “You can watch or we can act.”