The coalition negotiations in Germany between the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) have hit a rough patch.
The situation has threatened the chance of a drastic change in the country’s lax migration policy, which CDU leader Friedrich Merz had promised before the February 23 general election.
On March 20, it was reported by German news outlet Bild that the SPD’s Migration and Diversity working group had published an “alternative plan” for the migration policy of the future CDU-SPD coalition government that is currently being negotiated.
The cornerstone of the concept was an amnesty for illegal immigrants who were legally required to leave Germany – with the only exception being serious criminal offenders.
“‘An ‘involuntary departure’ from the federal territory is often neither feasible nor sensible,” the paper read. “The aim is to give people an opportunity to actively and meaningfully contribute to society in a way that is worthwhile for them and opens up prospects for them to stay, instead of leaving them with no prospects.”
The SPD working group said it would like to allow the approximately 200,000 illegals currently required to leave to remain in Germany in exchange for the promise of looking for a job, learn German and/or do voluntary work.
The SPD’s new plan directly thwarted the agreements reached by it and the CDU in the exploratory talks before the actual coalition negotiations began.
In the 11-page paper outlining the compromises reached in those talks, both parties agreed to increase the number of repatriations of illegal immigrants.
This was one of the key promises of CDU leader Merz ahead of the election. After a spate of deadly attacks allegedly by illegal immigrants, Merz had vowed he would immediately introduce border controls, increase the powers of federal police to detain illegals and conduct daily deportations.
The SPD’s U-turn on migration was just one of several instances in which the left-wingers seemed completely unwilling to give in to the CDU on any major point in the negotiations.
In another example, the SPD has now demanded a decriminalisation of abortions – in direct opposition to what Merz had promised before the election.
The tough stance of the SPD – despite only getting 16 per cent of the vote compared to the CDU’s 29 per cent – was a consequence of Germany’s “cordon sanitaire”.
Merz has promised to uphold the Conservatives’ self-commitment not to seek a coalition with the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
By depriving himself of the option of a centre-right coalition, the only remaining partner for a two-party government is the SPD.
