As German centre-right CDU leader Friedrich Merz prepares to form a government with the Social Democrats (SPD), it is becoming evident that he is willing to sacrifice his election promises and his proposed conservative policies—as well as betray his own voters—to become the next chancellor.
Following the elections on February 23rd, the CDU/CSU alliance and the SPD came to a preliminary agreement to revive the so-called ‘grand coalition.’
The agreement makes it clear that Merz’s tough anti-immigration rhetoric before the election was nothing more than empty promises. The CDU leader has backtracked on his vow to close Germany’s borders to illegal and undocumented migrants.
Another blatant lie during the campaign was that a new government led by the centre-right party would revoke a law introduced by the outgoing left-liberal cabinet which makes it easier for migrants to attain German citizenship.
Under the bill, which was adopted last summer by the parliament, migrants and asylum seekers are eligible for naturalisation after just three to five years of residency, instead of the previous eight.
Applicants who demonstrate “special integration achievements”—a good performance at school, a job, strong language skills, or voluntary work—can reduce the time they have to wait to be naturalised to three years.
Children born to foreign parents automatically qualify for German citizenship as long as one parent has been legally residing in Germany for five years instead of eight. Restrictions on holding multiple citizenships have also been removed.
The CDU-SPD agreement stipulates that Germany should remain an “immigration-friendly country,” and under the deal, the dual citizenship law will remain in place. The two parties have pledged to review the possibility of stripping citizenship from dual nationals if they are supporters of “terror” or hold “extremist” or antisemitic views.
This is another catastrophic U-turn by Friedrich Merz and his party, and yet another submission to left-wing demands.
Before the elections, Merz said of the naturalization law that “we are bringing additional problems into the country.” Members of his party had also expressed their fury, with some saying that the law is “creating another massive incentive for migration to Germany.”
