CDU leader defends asylum ruling
Merz calls criticism of dentist sentence “snapping”
September 30, 2023, 5:45 p.m
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There is also sharp criticism within the party: Nevertheless, CDU leader Merz defends his recent statements on asylum policy. The republic does not have to fall into a state of “gasp breathing,” he said at a state party conference. However, he also finds advocates in the Union.
CDU party leader Friedrich Merz has defended his controversial statements on asylum policy. You have to be able to say something critical about this topic, he said during the state party conference of the Saxony-Anhalt CDU in Magdeburg. Merz went on to explain that the Republic does not have to “snap” when it is pointed out that there is a threat of excessive demands. Former Federal President Joachim Gauck also recently warned of an impending loss of control in migration policy.
The CDU leader recently claimed that rejected asylum seekers were having their teeth done in Germany and were thus taking away Germans’ appointments at the dentist. Merz’s words also caused unrest within the party. The deputy head of the CDU social wing, Christian Bäumler, called on Merz to withdraw his statements or to forgo running for chancellor. “Merz’s derailments are incompatible with the Christian view of humanity. Many CDU members are ashamed of their party leader,” said Bäumler. Merz split the CDU.
CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, however, defended the party leader’s controversial statements. “Friedrich Merz addresses difficult issues and we are interested in addressing them but also solving them,” he said on Friday. There is support for Merz’s statements in the CDU. Linnemann also reiterated his call on the traffic light parties to find solutions on the issue of migration “across party lines from the middle of parliament”. “The offer still stands.”
The SPD, the Greens and the Left had previously sharply criticized the sentence. Chancellor Olaf Scholz publicly reprimanded the CDU leader. “What Mr. Merz said does not correspond to the legal situation in Germany. I think that you should be more careful with your words,” Scholz told SWR. The Chancellor advocated consistent deportations of migrants who are not entitled to protection in Germany. “But that doesn’t have to lead you to be clumsy with your words,” he emphasized.