“There is no country in the world with a shrinking population that has economic growth. This is the truth we have to live with,” Scholz said.
Meanwhile, a fierce debate continues in Germany about curbing illegal immigration. Inter-party talks involving Scholz’s coalition – the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) – as well as the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) ended in failure on Tuesday evening.
The debate over immigration policy has intensified since another Islamist attack in Solingen in August, in which three people were murdered.
The killer turned out to be a 26-year-old Syrian who avoided deportation to Bulgaria, whose border he first crossed when entering the European Union (EU) illegally.
On Wednesday, Scholz sharply criticized the leader of the CDU, Friedrich Merz, who appears in the right-wing press, but avoids “in good faith” engaging in negotiations about real policy changes.
German citizens do not want to watch theatrical performances, but serious politics, said the chancellor.
“Throwing slogans, [un] nothing to do,” he raised his voice to Mertz and other conservative members of the Bundestag.
It would be good to find common solutions to immigration problems, Scholtz pointed out, adding that the government will never close the door and that the opposition can return to the negotiating table.
Scholz also claimed that his government was working to achieve “the biggest breakthrough in the fight against illegal immigration”, speeding up the deportation of illegal immigrants, changing the European Union’s (EU) common asylum policy and developing security proposals that will be presented to the Bundestag this week.
“Don’t get lost, act and accomplish. This is our motto,” emphasized the head of the government.
Merz furiously dismissed Scholz’s claims as “disgraceful” and announced that conservative talks with the government would not continue.
He pointed out that the proposals made by the government on Tuesday were insufficient to stop illegal immigration. “That’s why we don’t engage in endless discussions with you in a circle and around,” emphasized the Conservative leader.
Merz suggested that the government should instead submit concrete proposals to the Bundestag for public debate.
In his speech, Scholz stressed that Germany must remain open to immigrants, but must monitor and manage their entry.
“We are a country that offers protection to those who are politically persecuted or fleeing for their lives, and that is in our constitution, and we will not debate that,” the chancellor said.
He warned that the shrinking working age population would cause major economic problems. In a few decades, the number of people working in certain industries may even halve, the head of the government claimed.
“We want people to work here, learn the German language, obey the law, earn a living, but then also get the right to decide,” Scholtz emphasized, adding that the government’s goal is to arrive at an immigration policy similar to that of the United States and Canada.
Meanwhile, immigration has become a central issue in German politics, with both polls and election results showing an overwhelming majority of Germans disapprove of the government’s policies.
In the just-held Landtag elections of the federal states of Thuringia and Saxony, the anti-immigration Eurosceptic party “Alternative Germany” (AfD), the opposition CDU, as well as the newly founded far-left Saara Wagenknecht Union (BSW), which adopted the anti-immigration rhetoric from the right, achieved the best success.
Meanwhile, the Social Democrats represented by Scholz suffered a historically unprecedented catastrophic defeat in both countries, only slightly exceeding the five percent barrier set for entering the Landtags.
The success of the other two parties in the coalition – the Greens and the FDP – was even weaker. The Greens barely managed to enter the Landtag of Saxony, while in Thuringia environmentalists have not entered the regional parliament.
On the other hand, the FDP suffered a particularly humiliating defeat, remaining “behind the line” in both countries and winning only approximately one percent of the vote. Many media that published the election results included the liberals in their schedules under “others” along with various minor parties.
2024-09-11 17:12:17