Germany: Bundestag supports stricter migration policies – DW (English)

January 29, 2025

CDU’s Merz calls for fresh talks with SPD, Greens

Conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said he regretted that his non-binding motion to restrict immigration passed with the support of the far-right AfD party — a move which broke a major taboo in German politics.

In a heated debate after the vote, Merz stressed that he was not seeking “majorities other than those in the democratic center.”

The CDU leader offered to hold fresh talks on migration with the ruling Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens ahead of another migration-related vote scheduled for Friday.

He called on the two parties to “talk to us by Friday about how we can work with you to achieve a majority for the bill we have introduced here in the German Bundestag.”

January 29, 2025

SPD says conservatives have ‘broken out of the political center’

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) has condemned the passing of a motion to restrict migration with the apparent support of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD).

SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich requested that an ongoing parliamentary session be paused following his shock that the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) allowed its motion to pass with the support of the AfD.

It has been a long-established convention in German politics that established parties maintained a “firewall” around the far-right AfD by not working with it.

Mützenich said it was now impossible to “simply go back to business as usual” because the conservative bloc had “broken out of the political center.”

January 29, 2025

AfD hails ‘new era’ after motion passes

The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has claimed victory after a non-binding motion to restrict migration succeeded in the German parliament.

On social media, AfD leader Alice Weidel called it “a historic day for Germany.”

The party also celebrated on the floor of the Bundestag.

“This is truly a historic moment,” said AfD’s first parliamentary secretary Bernd Baumann after the vote.

He said the vote signaled the end of red-green dominance in Germany “once and for all,” referring to the center-left Social Democrats and Greens that are currently in government.

“A new era is beginning here and now, and we are leading it!” the AfD lawmaker added.

The motion was put forward by the conservative Christian Democratic Union and Christian Southern Union bloc (CSD/CSU), which together holds 196 seats in parliament.

January 29, 2025

German MPs narrowly pass motion to restrict immigration

German lawmakers have passed a non-binding motion that urges the government to restrict immigration, in particular, to reject asylum seekers at the border.

The motion calls on the government to reject “attempts to enter the country illegally without exception” by establishing permanent border controls and immediately detaining people who are required to leave Germany.

People seeking protection who enter Germany from other European countries should be turned back because “they are already safe from persecution,” the motion added.

It passed with 348 votes in favour and 345 against, with 10 abstentions.

The motion was put forward by the conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

It was not immediately clear which lawmakers supported the motion. However, since the Social Democrats and the Greens previously opposed the motion, it likely succeed with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany far-right party (AfD) or other smaller blocs.

Relying on AfD votes would break a longstanding convention in German politics of established parties not working with the far-right group.

January 29, 2025

Left Party condemns proposals as ‘unfeasible’ and ‘inhumane’

Heidi Reichinnek, who heads Germany’s Left Party in the Bundestag, said that her party would vote against proposals on tightening migration policy put forward by the CDU/CSU conservative alliance led by Friedrich Merz.

She called the plans “legally highly problematic” and “unfeasible,” while also arguing they were inhumane.

She accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling Social Democrats (SPD) of adopting the policies of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), saying that polls had showed that this had “failed.”

January 29, 2025

AfD’s Weidel accuses coalition government and CDU of “migration chaos”

There was a lot of talk about the AfD in the Bundestag. What does the party leader and candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, say herself?

She presented a barrage of accusations against the coalition government and the conservative opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

She claimed both had caused “migration chaos” that cost human lives. 

Weidel criticized the tightening of the asylum policy presented by CDU leader Friedrich Merz from the opposition conservatives, stating it was still not enough. 

Despite this, she will vote for it. The AfD’s approval seems quite strange, as the opposition’s motion for a resolution contains harsh criticism of the AfD, explicitly stating that the AfD is xenophobic and promotes conspiracy theories.

Speaking during the Bundestag debate on Wednesay, Weidel accused the CDU/CSU conservative alliance of copying the AfD’s migration policies while also “currying favor” with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) and its junior coalition partner, the environmentalist Greens.

January 29, 2025

FDP’s Lindner calls for more ‘control’ over migration

Christian Lindner, the head of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), said his party would vote in favor of the conservative CDU/CSU’s proposed changes to migration policy.

Lindner had served as finance minister but was dismissed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November, leading to the collapse of the governing coalition and paving the way for a snap election scheduled for February 23.

Lindner urged for parties not to enter into coalition with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, saying that such a move would transform Germany from a “liberal” to an “authoritarian democracy.”

“Controlling and limiting immigration to Germany is an issue of the political center — we must not leave this to the fringes,” he declared.

Lindner pointed to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s meeting with Danish counterpart Mitte Frederiksen this week and praised Denmark’s strict policies on migration.

“No-one would doubt that [Denmark] is a liberal country that is open to the world,” he said.

The FDP leader argued that Germany had for too long made it difficult for people who are necessary for the labor market to migrate to the country while making things easier for those who arrive “irregularly and illegally.”

He accused the Greens of blocking stricter measures on migration during his time in Scholz’s governing coalition.

January 29, 2025

German ‘democratic center’ in question — Greens’ Habeck

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the Greens urged the conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) not to vote alongside the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) during a debate in the Bundestag.

Habeck also serves as Germany’s economy minister.

The vice chancellor said that the Bundestag was not debating a technical matter, but rather the “fundamental orientation of politics [and] political culture.”

He argued that what is known as the “democratic center” of German politics was being called into question, saying that to pass laws with support from the AfD would be to “break with tradition.”

Referring to the migration debate, Habeck asked lawmakers, “Will the [CDU/CSU] and FDP vote alongside the AfD in such a decisive and important question?”

He suggested that the CDU/CSU could later rely on the votes of the AfD to pass other proposals and called against working with “racists.”

Habeck accused the conservative alliance of wanting to break the law in order to change it, saying that this was a “steep path into the abyss.”

January 29, 2025

Merz on support from the AfD

Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democrats’ candidate for chancellor, lashed out in his speech, accusing Scholz of being “vile and infamous” in his attacks.

Merz stated that he would accept a majority with the AfD in a vote on a bill on internal security on Friday, and that his conscience was forcing him to act this way. 

“A right decision does not become wrong if the wrong people agree,” said Merz regarding the expected voting behavior of the right-wing AfD. 

This statement was met with shaking heads and heckling from some Social Democrat and Green MPs. 

The CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader insisted that he had no intention of cooperating with the far-right AfD or forming a coalition government after theelection in February. 

January 29, 2025

‘We owe it to people to act’ on migration — Merz

Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), called for stricter migration policy and swifter deportations during a debate in Germany’s parliament.

The party is part of the CDU/CSU conservative alliance, which is currently ahead in the polls ahead of federal elections due for February.

“We owe it to people to act,” he said, referring to migration policy.

He said that the CDU/CSU attempts to find a “common solution” with the Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition had failed.

Merz said it was possible that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party could, for the first time, ensure a parliamentary majority for a “necessary law” on Friday.

The CDU leader was met with criticism after he suggested he could pass legislation with support from the AfD.

“No doubt about it: democracy is in danger if radicals come to power, so we … will do everything we can to prevent this from happening,” Merz said.

He stressed that Scholz’s government represented a minority in parliament after his coalition’s collapse in November.

“I will add that democracy is also under threat when a social and political minority … uses radicals as a tool to permanently ignore the will of the majority of the population,” Merz said during the debate on Wednesday.

He called for Germany to make “effective decisions” against people who had arrived in the country illegally.

Merz argued that Germany had a “massive problem with criminality among foreigners, particularly among asylum seekers.”

He stressed that Germany also had a large number of people of “migrant background,” many of whom had lived in the country for decades.

Merz warned that people of migrant origin had become a “target” for the far-right, which he said was represented by the AfD in the Bundestag.

January 29, 2025

A black-and-blue government in the making?

In Germany’s color-coded politics, black stands for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and blue for the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave a passionate speech accusing opposition leader Friedrich Merz of planning to rely on votes from the AfD to pass his migration proposals.

He also claimed that Merz is willing to form a government coalition with them—called a “black-and-blue” coalition—after the snap election in February.

Merz, the favorite to become Germany’s next chancellor, has repeatedly ruled out cooperating with the AfD, which sits in second place in polls ahead of elections on February 23.

January 29, 2025

Scholz calls for ‘effective’ deportations

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) called for Germany to carry out “effective” deportations during a debate on immigration in the German Bundestag.

“There will only be acceptance for legal immigration if we enforce our law,” he argued.

“We have increased the number of deportations by almost a quarter compared with the previous year,” he said.

Scholz said last week’s deadly knife attack in Aschaffenburg could have been prevented with the proper enforcement of already existing laws.

However, he said that “the right to asylum is an integral part of our legal and value system,” stressing that these values could not be compromised.

Scholz criticized the CDU/CSU alliance’s apparent willingness to accept the AfD’s support for proposals on asylum and border policies, calling it an “unforgivable” mistake.

He said that Germany could not be “indifferent” toward cooperation with the far-right. He invoked the history of “German and European Jews” who had been turned away when fleeing the Holocaust committed under Germany’s Nazi dictatorship, saying that Germany could not “allow this to ever happen again.”

The chancellor said it was “difficult” to carry out deportations to Afghanistan with Taliban rulers in power in Kabul, but that Berlin had managed to do it.

A deportation flight left Germany for Afghanistan in August. “The next flight is being prepared,” Scholz said on Wednesday.

Scholz said that Berlin was observing developments in Syria and would deport criminal offenders there as soon as soon as the situation permits it.

January 29, 2025

BSW to reject CDU/CSU migration motions

The parliamentary leader of the populist BSW party, Sahra Wagenknecht, says its lawmakers will reject motions on migration by the CDU/CSU .

This makes it nearly impossible to achieve a majority for these motions, even with the far-right AfD voting in favor.

It could be that the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance alliance saves the “firewall.” 

The firewall is an agreement among democratic parties to prevent cooperation with the AfD.

January 29, 2025

SPD and Green youth wings call proposals antidemocratic and racist

The leader of Germany’s Green Youth (GJ) group, the youth organization linked with German Green Party, has accused the conservative CDU/CSU bloc of breaking with the democratic center with its propposals.

The motions are “right-wing extremist, racist and antidemocratic,” said Jette Nietzard in a podcast for the magazine Politik & Kommunikation in Berlin.

“They do not become right-wing extremist just because the AfD agrees, but are [right-wing extremist] from the start, and that is why the AfD approves. That is the right order,” she said.

 Philipp Türmer, the federal chairman of the SPD youth organizaton Jusos, described the behavior of the conservative bloc as right-wing populist power politics.

“We are doing everything to fight for majorities in the Bundestag that prevent Friedrich Merz, who is offending against our democracy, does not become chancellor,” he said.  
 

January 29, 2025

Coalition parties slam CDU’s Merz for openness to AfD support

The two parties remaining in Germany’s coalition government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party, have once more criticized Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merz for saying he is ready to cooperate with the far-right AfD to push through migration proposals.

“A person like that must not lead this country,” said the SPD’s Katja Mast in reference to Merz’s status as his party’s candidate for chancellor at upcoming elections.

Merz was “not suitable” to be German chancellor, Mast said, saying he possessed neither the integrity nor the reliability required for such an office.

The Green Party’s Irene Mihalic said the potential approval of the AfD, whom she named “the fascists,” would be a “flagrant breach.”

Mihalic said she was disgusted by Merz’s behavior.

“Itt affects me personally that someone who wants to become chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany is playing such a dangerous game with the political culture and democracy in our country,” she said.