Germany’s Seehofer Offers to Resign in Migration Clash with Merkel

Germany’s Seehofer offers to resign as CSU leader & interior minister

in migration clash with Merkel

© Michaela Rehle / Reuters

Bavarian CSU leader and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said he was ready to resign from both of his government posts, due to severe disagreements with Chancellor Angela Merkel over Germany’s migration policy, local media report.

While Seehofer, who has spearheaded the opposition to Merkel’s approach to tackling immigration problems, has not officially submitted his resignation, sources at a closed Christian Social Union presidency meeting told German media that he had made such a proposal and that some party members were trying to change his mind.

A CSU press conference planned for Sunday night has, meanwhile, been cancelled, with Seehofer reportedly planning to make a final attempt at reconciliation with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union on Monday.

According to reports, Seehofer sees few options for the CSU: Either to stand firm on the immigration dispute and risk undermining the ruling coalition, or to back down and damage the party’s credibility, reports Spiegel editor Melanie Amann. As a third option, the CSU leader reportedly offered to leave his post, possibly in an attempt to boost party members' support of his strategy.

Seehofer had previously warned that, unless Merkel came up with a satisfactory EU-wide solution to dealing with migrants, he would use his power to make sure that asylum-seekers who applied for asylum in states other than those where they’d first entered, would be turned away at the border.

Despite Seehofer wishing Merkel "much luck" ahead of her meeting with other EU members last week, his party has so far failed to approve the extremely vague immigration "compromise," which would ban Brussels from forcing states to set up migrant processing centers.

Ealier, Merkel said she believed the compromise was in line with the requirements of the CSU. "The sum of all we've agreed is equivalent to what the CSU wants – that's my personal view, but the CSU must decide for themselves," she said, as quoted by Reuters.

"It is also sustainable and in accordance with the European ideal. Europe is slow, and we aren't yet where we want to be... In my view Europe will be held together, otherwise free movement could have been in danger," she added.

But the disagreement with the immigration 'compromise' didn't only come from within Germany. Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic all stated that a final deal had not been reached, despite Merkel's claim that she had received "political consent" from 14 nations to strike a deal. 

Merkel's party is aiming to reach a deal which would satisfy voters in the upcoming Bavarian state election in October, in an attempt to prevent the right-wing and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from making gains. The topic of immigration is a hot one in Bavaria, as the state is the main transit point into Germany for migrants. The leader of the Left party Katja Kipping accused  CSU of taking "all Germany and Europe in hostage for an inner party power struggle."

She's just trying to get into the conversation

'Islam Doesn't Belong to Germany': German Interior Minister Talks Tough on Immigration

Berlin lists a little further to starboard

Seehofer outlines tough new measures on immigration and deportation of Muslim migrants.

Newly-appointed Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said that “Islam doesn't belong to Germany.” The comments contradict previous remarks from his own chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Seehofer was sworn-in on Wednesday, following protracted negotiations to form a new German government, and made the remarks in an interview with Bild on Friday. Seehofer, chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria, also outlined a number of tough new measures to curtail immigration and make it easier for Germany to deport failed asylum seekers.

Seehofer said he would implement a “master plan for quicker deportations” and seek to classify more countries as ‘safe,’ therefore making it easier to deport people to their country of origin. “My message is: Muslims need to live with us, not next to us or against us,” the minister said. “Of course the Muslims living here do belong to Germany.”

An estimated 4.4 to 4.7 million Muslims live in Germany, many from a Turkish background. More than a million middle-eastern migrants have arrived in the country since 2015 after Chancellor Merkel adopted an open-door policy.

The recent surge in popularity for the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been linked to German dissatisfaction with Merkel's policy, coupled with fears of a large-scale terrorist incident following the Berlin Christmas market truck attack which killed 12 people in 2016.  

Gains have been made by right-wing and anti-immigrant parties in a host of European countries over the last year, most notably in Austria, Denmark and France where National Front leader Marine Le Pen lost a close-fought presidential race to centrist Emmanuel Macron.

‘Germany Must Remain Germany’: Bavarian Leader Drafts Tough Migrant Policy Proposals

Seehofer to the rescue

‘Germany must remain Germany’: Bavarian leader drafts tough migrant policy proposals – report

© Leonhard Foeger / Reuters

A charter reiterating strict German migration limits and calling for new Turkey-like refugee agreements with third countries is reportedly being drafted by the leader of Germany’s Christian Social Union (CSU).

A program dubbed ‘Germany must remain Germany’ has been reportedly prepared by the Bavarian Prime Minister and the leader of CSU Horst Seehofer. The document is expected to be published on Tuesday, according to a report of Munich's local newspaper the Münchner Merkur.

The charter outlines the CSU’s position on Germany’s and the EU’s migration challenges. The document has been authored mainly by Seehofer, but also contains a number of proposals from Bavarian ministers, as well as input from other federal and state government officials, according to the Münchner Merkur.

There is however reference to the CSU’s commitment for further admission of “those in need of protection” into the country, despite the calls for migration limits and more stringent controls at the EU’s external borders.

“The inclusion of those in need of protection is a requirement of Christian and humanitarian responsibility,” states the charter according to the publication.

Germany should conduct its migration policy with “zero tolerance against xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism.” Seehofer is also advocating for an “African act” within the European Union - designed to help troubled states outside the EU, and establishing refugee centers in third countries.

“It was only the EU-Turkey agreement that led to the relief of the EU’s external borders in Greece,” the charter states. “However, such third-country agreements cannot be linked to inappropriate topics, such as EU accession, and visa-free agreements.”

The charter also calls for revision of family reunification policies, as the right to live in the EU must become strictly “self-earned.” In addition, elder migrants must be subjected to limited social support payments as they had spent the most their working lives outside the EU, the documents says.

The migrant influx must be regulated by an “orderly procedure” and according to quotas which ensure a “fair and sound burden distribution to the EU must not exceed the limits of the absorption capacity of a country,” the charter states.

The document reiterates the controversial idea of capping refugee numbers at 200,000 a year, and Seehofer also wants other EU member states to impose upper migration limits.

Migration policy has been the main source of tension between Seehofer and his ally Chancellor Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Seehofer and Merkel are expected to hold a joint “reconciliation summit” in February before jointly campaigning for September’s elections.

Angela Merkel has come to realize how idiotic, irresponsible and destructive her 2015 Open Doors policy was. Turkey came to her rescue in 2016 in dramatically reducing the migrant flow, now Seehofer is apparently 'forcing' her to capitulate on the culturally suicidal policy, just in time for an election. Seehofer is a veritable knight in shining armor.

While Seehofer has threatened to quit the alliance after the election if Germany’s migrant policy is not radically overhauled, some members of his party are calling for a united front in the run up to the elections.

“I believe it is in the interests of both the CDU and CSU sister parties that we enter the federal election campaign united,” CSU MP Stephan Mayer told party’s fellow members at an annual retreat, according to Deutsche Welle.

Mayer and Armin Schuster of the CDU wrote a letter to the Chancellor and Seehofer, proposing a flexible migration limit, which can be amended each year, DW reported. The idea seems to be compromise between Seehofer’s hardline approach and Merkel’s so called “open door” migration policy.

“The proposal envisages a concept for the establishment of a 'breathing' benchmark for the possible admission of people in need of protection in Germany,” DW quoted the letter as saying.