The expected showdown takes place at the federal party conference in the Greens: The Green Youth wants to prohibit the party from any tightening of asylum laws. Vice Chancellor Habeck warns the assembly against an end to all government participation. His opponents rely on emotions, but their proposal fails.
In a debate that was eagerly awaited by the Greens, the party leadership averted a momentous motion on questions of asylum and migration policy. A program text from the Green Youth was rejected by the majority of around 800 delegates after an almost three-hour, sometimes highly emotional discussion. Federal Chairwoman Ricarda Lang, Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock warned urgently against sabotaging the Greens’ participation in government. The applicants, on the other hand, see the party on the best path to abolishing asylum law and strengthening right-wing parties in Germany and Europe with its course.
At the so-called Federal Delegates Conference in Karlsruhe, the debate sparked over the adoption of the European election program. In the chapter on asylum and migration policy, the party sets out its guidelines on the subject. The Green Youth tried to draw up red lines for further government action. She and other party leftists are struggling, among other things, with the federal government’s approval of the EU asylum reform and with the agreements made at the Prime Minister’s Conference three weeks ago, where, among other things, more police powers in deportations and fewer cash benefits for people in the asylum procedure were decided. Their amendment was aimed at prohibiting their own government members and MPs from agreeing to any tightening of asylum laws in the future – even if in practice these are not tied to a European election program.
Habeck speaks of a “vote of no confidence”
Habeck described the Green Youth’s motion as “a vote of no confidence in disguise that actually says ‘leave the government’.” Staying in the traffic light coalition would be questioned if the application was accepted. “It would be naive to believe that this is possible and to remain in a government.” Nothing would get better for refugees if other parties governed instead of the Greens. The speech received loud applause, but it also outraged individual delegates because, in their view, Habeck had exerted undue pressure.
For Habeck it was also a risk: if the Green Youth’s motion had prevailed, he would have had a lot to explain with his determination that he could not continue to govern in this way. Party leader Ricarda Lang, face of the party left, argued similarly to Realo Habeck: “The consequences are that we are no longer at the table when these things are negotiated,” said Lang. As party leader, you ask for trust so that the Greens in the federal government can continue to negotiate for green migration policy.
“We don’t want the end of the government, we want a new asylum policy,” replied Sarah Lee Heinrich, former leader of the Green Youth. “For months we’ve been talking about doing another thing to finally put a lid on the asylum debate, and it’s not working.” The new leader of the party’s junior ranks, Katharina Stolla, said: “Doing politics out of love for people means doing politics for all people and not out of love for a coalition partner.”
Her co-chair Svenja Appuhn said: “No, this is really not a vote of no confidence.” Rather, the backs of the ministers would be strengthened to say ‘this far and no further’ at the traffic lights. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock replied to Appuhn: “I can tell you: I cannot comply with that.” If successful, she would have to abstain from every negotiation. Then others determined migration policy alone.
Arguing about the right tone
Supporters of the Green Youth’s proposal point out, among other things, that it is not the number of refugees that is the cause of empty coffers in the municipalities, of insufficient accommodation capacity and of a lack of staff in authorities, schools and daycare centers. Instead, they demanded more money for the municipalities and warned that the Greens would play into the hands of the CDU/CSU and the AfD if they agreed to the claim that Germany was overburdened.
Several delegates jumped to the side of the Green ministers and accused the Green youth of “hooting” and inappropriate propaganda. “I don’t think this tone and this approach is okay,” said MEP Viola von Cramon. “Have the trust that we will stand up for refugees with everything we have,” said Katharina Beck, a member of the Bundestag from Hamburg. “Annalena [Baerbock] is the strongest lawyer for refugees in the European Union,” said Christian Schubert, delegate from Erftstadt.
Baerbock himself had spoken out earlier in the day in anticipation of the debate and advocated for the reform of the Common European Asylum Law (CEAS). “If we don’t know who is coming, if we don’t register him or her, how will he or she be able to be distributed and stay?” asked the Foreign Minister. “Without order there is no humanity.” However, there is currently no order at all in Europe’s asylum policy, which is why the CEAS reform is a step forward.
Controversial headline
“As painful as compromises are, including the one on GEAS, without them we will hardly be able to achieve the basic right to asylum, binding distribution and state sea rescue,” said Baerbock. The reform needs to be passed in the next few months. A new European Parliament will be elected at the beginning of June, which could subsequently make European unification more difficult.
How fundamentally different the views were was already revealed in the debate over the title of the corresponding election program section “Humanity and Order”. Politicians from the CDU and CSU had also used this formulation again and again, but they meant a different migration policy than that of the Greens. However, the Federal Executive Board won a close vote on this with its original text.
At the four-day party conference from Thursday to Sunday, the Greens will negotiate their European election program. On Friday they selected the list of European election candidates and nominated 36-year-old Terry Reintke as the top candidate. The party chairmen Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour as well as Federal Managing Director Emily Büning were also confirmed in their positions. They had already moderated an uprising against the traffic light’s approval of the EU asylum law reform at the small party conference in Bad Vilbel. The bitter opposition in the debate has shown that the issue will continue to concern the party for the foreseeable future.