High tension before the Prime Minister’s Summit in Leipzig! At the top of the agenda: the unresolved asylum crisis in Germany. A tough struggle is expected to find the right ways to contain the large influx of refugees.
Not all measures are a consensus, not even among the state leaders of the CDU. Anyone who governs at home with the Greens, like Hendrik Wüst (NRW), is likely to act more cautiously, especially when it comes to the hot topic of “rejections,” because that quickly annoys their colleagues from the eco-party. In an application initiated by Wüst with the states also governed by black-green or green-black governments, the unpopular “Z-word” does not even appear.
Appeal from Wüst
Wüst told BILD: “Together with Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein, we have submitted concrete proposals to the Federal Council to make our country safer. And even in countries that are not governed by the black-green coalition, I am slowly starting to notice movement. These are good first signals. But it is completely clear: We will not get any further if we only take steps.” He is counting on “that SPD-led states can also approach the consistent measures put forward by CDU and Green-led states.”
<img width="992" height="661" alt="From the point of view of leading Union politicians, border controls alone are not enough – the police should also be allowed to reject asylum seekers” src=”https://images.bild.de/67190129defbfe64e2c3d2e8/3ba4ed87be413adfd1bda181b56195a6,4ba26f50?w=992″ sizes=”(max-width: 599px) 656px, 992px” srcset=”https://images.bild.de/67190129defbfe64e2c3d2e8/3ba4ed87be413adfd1bda181b56195a6,4ba26f50?w=656 656w, https://images.bild.de/67190129defbfe64e2c3d2e8/3ba4ed87be413adfd1bda181b56195a6,4ba26f50?w=992 992w” class=”dynamic” loading=”lazy”/>
Photo: ddp/Revierfoto
Bayern Regent Markus Söder (57, CSU) continues to insist in BILD on “rejections at the borders”. He also wants to implement an “absolute minimum of benefits for rejected asylum seekers” at the summit. Because anyone who refuses to comply with the will of the population will only strengthen “the extreme edges”.
“Less immigration into social systems”
Support comes from Saxony-Anhalt’s head of government Reiner Haseloff (70, CDU). He told BILD that what was needed was “an overall concept of networked individual measures”. This includes “better border security with the possibility of refoulement”. He also wants “less incentives for immigration into the social systems”, for example through the rapid introduction of payment cards and the reduction of financial benefits.
Saxony’s head of government Michael Kretschmer (49, CDU) is now calling for the security package to defend against terrorism to be “improved”. The Union heads of government want data retention to happen. This slows down the FDP at the traffic lights.
Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa
Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner (52, CDU) has another idea. He told BILD: “To limit immigration, a constitutional amendment that secures the basic right to asylum but leads to a significant reduction in the number of immigrants can also be helpful.” He expects “that we (…) openly, across party lines beyond, face this discussion.”