The German CDU/CSU alliance’s preliminary coalition agreement with the Social Democrats (SPD) includes ‘tough new steps’ to limiting illegal immigration, Friedrich Merz said on Saturday in what on the surface appears to be yet another flip-flop from the CDU leader. This would include refusing all migrants at the borders, even those seeking asylum, Merz said.
But German conservative media outlets that have taken a closer look at these plans conclude that they won’t stray far from the pro-migration policies of the past decade, during which the country, under the leadership of these two parties, welcomed millions of migrants into Germany.
Before the February 23rd elections, CDU leader Friedrich Merz used tough anti-immigration rhetoric to try and lure voters away from the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, and even pushed through a non-binding motion in parliament together with the support of the AfD, under which the country would refuse the entry of illegal and undocumented migrants.
However, as Merz made clear the day after the election, there will be no border closures despite his previous promise to, on the first day of his chancellorship, instruct the home affairs ministry
to permanently control the German state borders and to reject all attempts at illegal entry without exception.
The agreement Merz has now signed with the SPD states that migrants would be rejected “in coordination with our European neighbors”—an admission that if fellow EU members refuse to take back migrants that had passed through their countries, Germany will have little choice in the matter. The Austrian government has already said it would not take back rejected asylum seekers.
Apollo News recalls that the outgoing left-wing government led by the SPD also promised “a massive expansion of pushbacks” at the border last September following a spate of knife crimes committed by migrants. However, of the 22,243 migrants who entered Germany illegally since then, only 13,786 people were rejected or deported.
According to Tichys Einblick, the promise to “suspend family reunification” for migrants is also deceitful because it will only apply to migrants with temporary protection—which amounts to less than 10% of the 136,000 German visas issued last year for family members of asylum seekers.
It is also indicative of the new government’s approach to migration that the SPD said it wants to see “more immigration success stories.”
Reacting to the announcement of the preliminary coalition agreement, the right-wing AfD said that instead of initiating a real U-turn, the CDU has submitted to the left-wing demands of the SPD.
The two prospective coalition parties have also made bold promises on invigorating the German economy, reducing energy prices, and reforming the army, and are now moving to talks on a detailed formal coalition agreement, including haggling over cabinet posts. The plan is for Germany to have a new government by mid-April—one where the main uniting factor appears to be a strong desire to thwart the will of the people and keep the AfD out of a position of power at any cost.
