Politics in Europe > Another Wall comes down in Germany - CDU to work with AfD

 

Merkel’s party allies with AFD on migration

The CDU and AfD will vote together on immigration restriction,

both parties have said

Friedrich Merz appears on an election billboard in Berlin, Germany, January 24, 2025 ©  Getty Images / Sean Gallup

Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has said that it will implement strict immigration laws even if it has to enlist the support of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass them. 

The move marks the first time a mainstream German party has agreed to work with the AfD and stands in stark contrast with the policy of former CDU leader and Chancellor Angela Merkel known for her lenient approach to migration.

"Wir können es nicht tun" - We can't do it! Angela would roll over in her grave at such an admission, if she was in her grave. I guess she will have to roll over in her bed.

In a letter to party members seen by Politico on Friday, CDU leadership said that its lawmakers would introduce harsh immigration restrictions even “if only the AfD supports our proposals.”

“We will introduce motions in the German Bundestag [Parliament] that are exclusively in line with our convictions,” CDU leader Friedrich Merz told German news agency DPA later on Friday. “And we will introduce them regardless of who agrees with them.”

Since the AfD’s founding in 2013, the country’s mainstream parties have maintained a ‘firewall’ around the right-wingers, refusing to enter coalition talks with them and declining to introduce legislation that could only pass with their support.

Read more

 Germany’s Scholz sets out limits to ‘free speech’

However, German attitudes to immigration have hardened since Merkel opened Germany’s borders to more than a million migrants in 2015, and the AfD is now the country’s second-most-popular party. Ahead of a general election next month, the AfD is polling at 20%, behind the CDU at 30% but ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SDP) at 17%, according to Politico. 

Merz is expected to assume the chancellorship after the election. A recent survey found that Immigration is the top concern among voters. After an Afghan man allegedly stabbed a two-year-old child to death at a Bavarian school earlier this week, AfD leader Alice Weidel wrote to Merz offering to back any immigration restrictions proposed by his party.

”The firewall has fallen!” Weidel wrote on X on Friday. “The CDU and CSU have accepted my offer to vote together with the AfD in the Bundestag on the crucial issue of migration. This is good news for our country!” she added, referring to the CDU’s Bavarian sister party.

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Merkel's Rudderless Party Sinking as SS Hamburg Lists Sharply to Port

‘Chaotic Demoralized Union’: Merkel’s CDU laments ‘bitter day’ after losing big in Hamburg state election

Germany's Social Democratic Party and the Greens won big during the Hamburg election,

leaving CDU far behind © Patrik Stollarz / AFP

Leadership chaos and the recent scandal in Thuringia – where the CDU sided with the tabooed AfD – led voters to punish the chancellor’s party in Germany’s second-largest city, its top-tier members and opponents believe.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) achieved its worst ever result in the city state of Hamburg on Sunday, scoring only 11.2 percent of the vote and trailing far behind its center-left rivals, the Social Democrats and Greens, who won the support of 39 and 24.2 percent of residents respectively.

This is one of the most embarrassing state election defeats in the CDU’s history, according to Der Spiegel, second only to the 1951 vote in Bremen, where it garnered just nine percent. Unsurprisingly, morale among the Christian Democrats – already dubbed the ‘Chaotic Demoralized Union’ in the media – was as low as their election result.

“It is a bitter day for the CDU in Germany and a historically bad result in Hamburg,” lamented the party’s secretary general Paul Ziemiak. "For us as a union there is nothing to gloss over,” added Daniel Gunther, prime minister of northern state Schleswig-Holstein.

The bitter defeat didn’t come out of the blue; the Christian Democrats have suffered from the leadership crisis which broke out after party leader and designated Merkel successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer – or AKK as she came to be known in German media – suddenly stepped aside, sending the party into a tailspin and blowing open the race for the chancellorship.

With AKK no longer at the helm – although she technically leads the CDU – the party lacked the determination and vision needed to win. The defeat in Hamburg was about “leaderlessness,” as Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans put it on ARD.

Referring to the selection of a new leader, he said it was important that AKK “has the right to act in order to organize the whole thing,” but failed to mention that Kramp-Karrenbauer’s abdication was due to organization and management skills she couldn’t show.

Earlier this month, a CDU branch in the eastern state of Thuringia defied AKK’s instructions and voted with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to unseat the Left Party’s State Premier Bodo Ramelow and install the little-known Thomas Kemmerich, from the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).

The move, which Merkel called “unforgivable,” broke with a consensus among mainstream parties of not cooperating with the right-wing group, and “noticeably overshadowed the Hamburg election campaign,” according to CDU’s major candidate Marcus Weinberg.

“These developments have made us famous and ultimately cost a lot of votes,” he admitted, explaining why voters handed the Christian Democrats their worst result. "Despite a creative and committed election campaign, our own election goals were clearly missed,” Weinberg said.

Meanwhile, Susanne Hennig-Wellsow, head of the Left Party in Thuringia, agreed with the judgement, saying “the taboo breach has hit [CDU] all the way to Hamburg.”

Some say, however, that the “leaderlessness” and the Thuringia scandal aren’t the biggest problems in the party.

“The problems are homemade,” a high-ranking CDU member who refused to be named told Die Welt newspaper. He said the mood within the party was poisoned by envy and resentment instead of mutual support. “Internally, we tend to be malicious when one of us fails – and we don't realize that it all falls back on all of us,” he revealed.

Later in the year, the chancellor’s center-right party faces a string of local elections in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and the city of Leipzig in the east, the results of which will likely affect the nationwide vote in 2021.

According to recent polls by ARD and Bild, CDU – and its Bavarian allies – still holds the ground with between 26 and 27 percent of voter support, but as the Hamburg vote has shown, predictability is no longer a feature of German politics.

Here's a prediction you can take to the bank - if Germany continues to list to port, especially in the national elections next year, and if they continue to ostracize the AfD, there will be a very rapid and violent rise in far-right extremism. You cannot continue to ignore the presence of Islam in a post-Christian country.

Merkel and Allies Lose Votes but Hang on in German Elections as Right-Wing AfD Surges

Elections in 2 states - AfD virtually doubles vote count in one

and triples in the other

Journalists watch first exit polls following the regional state elections in Saxony and Brandenburg in Berlin

© Reuters / Fabrizio Bensch

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU and coalition partners SPD have managed to cling to power in two crucial state elections. However, these former strongholds have seen a surge in support for Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The states of Saxony and Brandenburg – once part of former Eastern Germany or DDR– have long been considered bastions of support for Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and the left-wing Social Democrats (SPD). However, parliamentary election results on Sunday have dealt another blow to the so-called ‘Grand Coalition.’

Saxony has been ruled by CDU prime ministers since the 1990s and is considered by some as the party’s spiritual home. However, the CDU saw its support drop to 32 percent on Sunday, down 7.4 points since the last election in 2014, according to an exit poll by German broadcaster ARD. While the party remains the largest in the state, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) came a close second, taking 27.5 percent of the vote on Sunday, up from 9.7 percent in 2014.

Europe Elects

@EuropeElects

Germany (Saxony regional election), FGW exit poll:

Age group: 18-29

AfD-ID: 22%

GRÜNE-G/EFA: 19%

CDU-EPP: 17%

LINKE-LEFT: 12%

SPD-S&D: 7%

FDP-RE: 7%

Brandenburg encircles Berlin, and has been ruled by the SPD since German reunification in 1990. The AfD’s hopes of surrounding the German capital were dashed on Sunday, but not by a wide margin. The SPD won 27.5 percent of the vote, ahead of the AfD's 22.5 percent. In 2014, AfD only managed to score 12.2 percent, while the socialists took just under 32 percent.

While campaigning in Branderburg, AfD invoked the spirit of 1989 to win votes, printing posters bearing the slogan “Wende 2.0,” referring to the German word for 'turnaround,' used to describe the collapse of East Germany. While the party made a name for itself by vocally opposing Merkel’s 'open door' immigration policies, it has also positioned itself as a champion of the relatively disadvantaged east, protesting the planned closure of coal mines and calling for urban regeneration.

While Merkel's Open Doors policy is being blamed here for the surge in AfD support, I think they are missing the point. Open Doors certainly gave rise to the AfD, but the surge in support in 2019 probably has more to do with the handling of migrants since 2015. The government, courts, police and media policy of not naming the nationality of criminals, and going extra easy on them in the courts, has given rise to far-right neo-Nazi groups, but has also caused great disillusionment among average Germans. How can you trust a government that seems to do more to protect criminals than honest Germans?

Surprised and Delighted, So Far, With Merkel's Successor - AKK

‘Tensest people in world’: Merkel’s successor doubles down on ‘third gender joke’ after outrage

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the CDU head © Global Look Press / Danny Gohlke

Facing a barrage of criticism over her “third gender joke,” the new head of the Christian Democratic Union, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, has shown no remorse. Instead, she attacked Germany’s overzealous political correctness.

In an unusual outburst, the leader of one of Germany’s major parties and hand-picked successor of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is known for her liberal stance towards migration and multiculturalism, has assaulted Germany’s ‘sacred cow’ – political correctness.

“Today, I have a feeling that we are the tensest people out of all, who roams this world,” Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is commonly referred to as AKK, said at an annual traditional Ash Wednesday party reserved by politicians for mocking opponents and allies alike in a jocular manner. However, it seems AKK was not joking this time.

“If we're so rigid, as has been the case in the past few days, then a piece of tradition and culture in Germany will be lost, and we shouldn't allow that,” she said, adding that “it just cannot go on like this.”

Her rant was provoked by the public outrage that followed a joke she made at another traditional German carnival-like event – the Jester’s Court mock trial in late February. At that time, the CDU head quipped that bathrooms for the third gender installed in Berlin were apparently reserved for “men who can’t decide if they want to sit or stand when they pee.”

‘Speech police’

The joke then sparked a wave of outrage from LGBT-activists as well as from politicians from virtually all sides of the political spectrum. The opposition Green and Left parties’ members, as well as pro-business Free Democrats and even CDU’s coalition partners from the Social Democratic Parties, all competed in devising increasingly ingenious ways of slamming the fresh conservative leader.

Berlin's Deputy Mayor Klaus Lederer called her words a “travesty” and a senior member of the Left Party, Dietmar Bartsch even said it was “another reason to fight against this woman becoming chancellor.” 

Support came from where it was least expected as the co-chair of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), Joerg Meuthen, suddenly came to AKK’s defense, even though his party is traditionally known for its sharp criticism of the Christian Democrats.

“Relying on her residual conservatism …Kramp-Karrenbauer dared to target the idiocy of the so-called ‘third gender,’” he wrote in a Facebook post in early March, adding that “it could not, of course, be tolerated in the Left-Green madhouse of Germany.”

The speech police of the permanently offended ones should have been, of course, immediately deployed. Whether it is carnival time or not,

it cannot play any role in such an important case.

On Wednesday, AKK herself said that the barrage of criticism and calls for her to apologize only “show how bad the situation must be with those,” who attacked her over her joke. 

She also received some backing from a regional CDU head, Vincent Kokert, who said that his party would not allow any “speech police” to spoil the carnival fun. He also said that equal rights also mean a right to make fun of everything and everyone.

We do not need any instruction as to what equality means.

What happens here is ‘madness’

In a stark deviation from the course pursued by Angela Merkel, who rarely allowed herself to diverge from the mainstream pro-multiculturalism line and was usually reserved in her statements, her successor seemingly set out to continue her crusade against political correctness.

She particularly weighed in on another recent hot topic involving a Hamburg kindergarten advising parents against letting their children wear costumes of American Indians at a carnival party, deeming it “insensitive” and “offensive.”

This is all sheer madness what happens here.

The CDU head said she wants to see a Germany, “where children can just be children” and can dress up as cowboys or Indians or anyone else “without anyone telling them at the age of three that they have to be culturally sensitive.” The issue already unleashed a wave of criticism from politicians and apparently still occupies the minds of at least some of them.

Most recently, the leader of the CDU’s Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union, Markus Soeder, mocked the whole debate about political correctness in kindergartens by saying that it turns Germany into a laughing stock.

If the world knew about what nonsense we are quarrelling about,

the world would have lost all fear of and respect for us.

We should again come to our senses.

Frankly, Herr Soeder, it's that same madness in all liberal countries. 

Bavaria Election: Merkel's Conservative Allies Humiliated

Exit polls show CSU losing majority it has long enjoyed

as far-right AfD, and far-left Greens, makes gains

The Guardian
Kate Connolly and Josie Le Blond in Berlin

The Bavarian leader, Markus Söder, reacts to his party’s worst election result for six decades.

Photograph: Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images

Angela Merkel’s conservative partners in Bavaria have had their worst election performance for more than six decades, in a humiliating state poll result that is likely to further weaken Germany’s embattled coalition government.

The Christian Social Union secured 35.5% of the vote, according to initial exit polls, losing the absolute majority in the prosperous southern state it had had almost consistently since the second world war. The party’s support fell below 40% for the first time since 1954.

Markus Söder, the prime minister of Bavaria, called it a “difficult day” for the CSU, but said his party had a clear mandate to form a government.

Among the main victors was the environmental, pro-immigration Green party, which as predicted almost doubled its voter share to 18.5% at the expense of the Social Democratic party (SPD), which lost its position as the second-biggest party, with support halving to less than 10%.

Annalena Baerbock, the co-leader of the Greens, said: “Today Bavaria voted to uphold human rights and humanity.”

Andrea Nahles, the leader of the SPD, delivered the briefest of reactions at her party’s headquarters in Berlin, calling the results “bitter” and blaming them on the poor performance of the grand coalition in Berlin.

The anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland, which entered the national parliament for the first time after a federal election last year, repeated the feat in Bavaria – once considered to be off-limits – and will enter the regional parliament for the first time having secured about 11% of the vote.

Katrin Ebner-Steiner of the AfD told jubilant party supporters she would spend the next five years “representing your strong voice” at a time when Germany and Bavaria were in a “dreadful state” over migration. “We’re cut from a different wood from the bloodless mainstream parties,” she said, promising to “fight for victory not for us, but for Bavaria”.

The Free Voters, a regional protest party, is also likely to enter parliament, having secured a historic 11.5%. Its leader, Hubert Aiwanger, said shortly after the result that he had called the CSU leadership to start coalition negotiations.

Turnout, at 72.5%, was at its highest level for almost 40 years, thanks in part to the clement weather, in part to the historic nature of the vote.

The CSU, the sister party to Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), has ridden for decades on a ticket of folksy beerhall rhetoric and pledges to protect the heimat (homeland), combined with the drive for economic success – often referred to as “laptop and lederhosen”.

Merkel did not react to the results, but the CDU’s general secretary, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, called them “bitter … but not surprising”, citing the governmental infighting of recent months. She said the party would urgently consult before a state election in Hesse in two weeks’ time. “We need to address the issues which are burning under people’s fingernails,” she added.

At the previous election in 2013, the CSU secured 47.7% of the vote, compared with 62% at the height of its popularity in 1974.

The party more or less took for granted its dominant position as the standalone leader in Bavaria, but its power base started to erode with the demise of the mainstream political landscape across Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

However, the dramatic slide in the CSU’s fortunes coincided with the arrival of about 1 million refugees to Germany in the summer of 2015 through Bavaria, causing uncertainty and some xenophobia.

The CSU leadership under Söder and the party leader, Horst Seehofer – who is also the federal interior minister – did its best to blame the growing sense of instability in Bavaria on Merkel’s refugee policy.

In an effort to tackle the backlash against Muslim refugees, it introduced a law requiring classrooms and public buildings to hang the crucifix and ban the full-face Islamic veils.

The fallout over the refugee crisis and disputes between Seehofer and Merkel over how to control Germany’s border have almost led to the collapse of her fragile coalition.

But in the weeks running up to the election, successive polls showed the CSU’s hardline stance and its near-success in causing the government’s collapse had prompted a haemorrhaging of voters to other parties.

The CSU’s dismal result leaves in doubt the political futures of both Söder and Seehofer.

Speaking on Sunday evening, Seehofer said the party would “draw the necessary consequences” from the poor result over the following weeks, but did not refer to his or Söder’s futures.

The forthcoming makeup of the Bavarian government is unclear, although the Greens have signalled their willingness to enter a coalition with the CSU, which in turn is uneasy about such an alliance. Statistically, the CSU could also form a government with the Free Voters, with whom they have considerably more in common.

Reacting to the vote, Thomas Steinleitner, a baker from the town of Deggendorf who abandoned the CSU for the first time, said the party had lost touch with its supporters.

“They just repeated what the AfD said, and I don’t identify with them any more. The CSU and CDU – all the big parties – it feels like they work together with industry, but us normal people are not important to them,” he said.

This is an aberration for recent elections in the EU. The positioning of AfD in the state parliament is overshadowed by the dramatic doubling of the Greens and the decrease in seats for the CSU. Basically, Bavaria has rejected Seehofer's attempts to move it to the right in regard to immigration and Islamization, and the state has politically shifted a little to the left. This is not a good thing for Germany.

Bavaria, Germany

Preliminary Coalition Talks in Germany Suggest Immigration Continue at About 200,000 /yr

New German parliament to cap refugee inflow & scrap tax hike – coalition roadmap

Bundestag, Berlin © Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

German parties have agreed upon a 28-page blueprint, forming a possible basis for breaking the stalemate in coalition talks, according to German lawmakers.

Speaking to reporters following 25-hour-long talks, the leaders of the three parties praised the “excellent” results, but stressed that on many points – notably migration and taxes – there is still much work to be done. The party delegates are now to discuss the draft with members to pave the way for formal coalition talks.

The leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Martin Schulz, who previously shunned the notion of a coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel, has come around to forming a government with her bloc.

“We Social Democrats, in our [leadership] committee, decided unanimously to recommend... to the party congress giving the party leadership a mandate to pursue coalition negotiations to form a government,” Schulz said on Friday.

Merkel is optimistic about the possibility of forming a coalition with the Social Democrats. The chancellor said that the newly-formed government would be a “new awakening” for Europe, vowing also to come to an agreement with France over the future of the EU.

Moving even further to the left could hardly be called a 'new awakening'. Left-leaning governments in the EU are seriously bringing cultural suicide home with reckless and idiotic Islamization. Merkel thinks she can control Islam in Germany, but she will find out too late that it is absurd.

Merkel’s conservative bloc ally, Horst Seehofer, said that if Schulz's party supports the blueprint, a formal coalition agreement may be reached before Easter.

A member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) as well as another lawmaker from the CDU’s Bavarian sister-party CSU, Dorothee Bar, tweeted the photo of the document’s cover on Friday.

“Many, many hours of painstaking work and alignment are contained in these 28 pages,”member of the Christian Democratic Union or CDU Julia Klockner said.

The draft suggests keeping the number of refugees coming to Germany within the range of 180,000-220,000 per year, according to German media. The document reportedly covered the refugees’ family reunification process, suspending it till a new law is adopted and aiming to finally cap it at 1,000 people per month. The heads of the coalition parties also ruled out the tax increases earlier demanded by the SDP.

Considered a potential breakthrough on a new grand coalition following months of political uncertainty, the document could nevertheless be changed before the start of the formal talks.

Merkel’s conservative bloc, including the CDU and the CSU, embarked on negotiations over the potential forming of a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Martin Schulz on Saturday. Should the outcome be fruitful, it may pave the way to forming a grand coalition of the two biggest parties.The parties clashed over a number of crucial issues, including refugee policies, the future of the European Union and budgeting.

Germany Still Struggling to Put Together a Functional Government

Good match? Merkel & Social Democrats still at odds on major issues

as coalition talks gets underway

Angela Merkel is apparently doing her best trying to hammer out a coalition deal with the Social Democrats to finally get a functioning government. 

On Sunday, Merkel’s conservative bloc consisting of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian ally, the (CSU), embarked on negotiations over the potential forming of a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Martin Schulz.

The two sides have just five days to try and find common ground. Should the outcome be successful, it may pave a way to the majority government.

But the parties are still divided on a number of crucial issues which could make a finding a solution palatable to both camps a bridge too far. In fact, in November 2017, Schulz ruled out any possibility of a new government with Merkel. And even though he recently made a U-turn on that position, the SPD chief was clear that his party wants “to push through as many red policies in Germany as possible." In addition, Schulz also faces opposition within his own ranks which wants the SPD to part ways with Merkel’s bloc.

Refugee policies

Confronted by public discontent over her handling of the refugee crisis and the rise of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, Merkel and her party decided to adopt a tougher policy, including accelerated deportation. In October, the CDU and the CSU agreed to limit the number of asylum seekers entering Germany.

The CSU – the leading political force in Bavaria – went further and proposed even stricter measures. They included cutting benefits to refugees, introducing mandatory age tests for asylum seekers, and extending the ban on refugees to reunite with their families.

These proposals seem to be at odds with the SPD stance. Most recently, the Social Democrats criticized the ideas of suspending family reunification for refugees as well as of mandatory age tests for underage asylum seekers. The SPD is also against the deportation of Syrian refugees, citing the security situation there.

The future of EU

The future of Europe is also a potential stumbling block in the ‘grand coalition’ talks. While Schulz is strongly advocating for the creation of a “United States of Europe” by 2025, (adding that all those who disagree should leave the bloc), the CSU leader Horst Seehofer invited the outspoken euro-skeptic, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban to his party's conference in southern Bavaria.

Orban is known for his staunch euro-skepticism posture and combative attitude towards Brussels. He reiterated his position that nation states should have more power within the Union, particularly in the field of labor and financial policy. Hungary's PM added that he is opposed to “replacing a nation [state’s] responsibility with national irresponsibility.”

Military spending

Another potential hurdle is defense spending. Merkel’s conservative bloc seeks to significantly increase Germany’s defense budget to raise overall military spending to 2 percent of its GDP. The CDU/CSU alliance also advocates increasing the number of the German Armed Forces personnel by 18,000 and providing the military with new equipment and weapons.

The Social Democrats, in contrast, are strongly against increased defense spending, and support a “disarmament initiative.” They also suggest limiting the export of small arms to only NATO and EU countries.

This strikes me as the only sensible plank in Schulz's platform. I hate the reckless and unnecessary spending on militaries in Europe and the sale of arms to countries they could very well end up fighting in the future. It benefits arms manufacturers and no-one else. This is 'deep-state' theology!

The talks with the Social Democrats are considered by some experts to be Merkel’s last chance to form a majority coalition. Should the negotiations collapse, Germany would face new elections or a minority Merkel government.

Meanwhile, public support for the ‘grand coalition’ seems to be waning as the public mood appears to be shifting towards new elections. A recent poll showed that a new vote is backed by more Germans than those supporting a continuation of the coalition talks.

“The trust in the grand coalition is beginning to diminish quite considerably in the German population,” Rainer Rothfuss, a German geopolitics scholar, told RT. He said the next elections may come earlier than expected, and that Merkel has failed as a negotiator while reaching out to the liberals, represented by the Free Democratic Party and the Greens during last year’s failed coalition talks.

Apparently, she is unwilling to attempt a coalition with the AfD and FDP. 

‘Crackpot Idea’: German Govt Dismisses ‘Islam Law’ Proposed by Merkel’s Party

See no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil - is that a good ideal for a government?

© Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters

The German government has slammed a proposal put forward by Chancellor Merkel’s CDU party, which would see a Muslim registry introduced and the country’s mosques monitored, as nothing but a “populist crackpot idea” incompatible with freedom of religion.

Ahead of September’s looming general election, Julia Kloeckner, the deputy head of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), and Jens Spahn, a member of the party’s executive committee, floated the idea of passing the so-called ‘Islam law.’

However, Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, dismissed the idea, telling reporters on Monday that “such a law is not now an issue for government business.” He also said Merkel’s cabinet considers freedom of religion “one of the central freedoms safeguarded by our constitution.”

The CDU’s former secretary-general, Ruprecht Polenz, also dismissed the proposal as a “populist crackpot idea.”

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the proposal is not compatible with Germany’s constitutional order. “Religion is a mark of our society and it must not become a wedge in our society,” he told N-TV, adding “that’s why we ensure that no hate is preached in mosques and that German should be spoken there.”

If 'no hate' is preached in mosques than there is no freedom to proclaim evil and what is perceived to be evil. Are the religious now required to accept evil? Is that freedom of religion? 

Islam will eventually become a wedge in society as it grows in numbers and political power. You cannot avoid the 'wedge in society' by pretending that this will not be the case.

Spahn proposed the so-called ‘Islam law’ earlier this week, arguing that the country’s authorities “had to know what happens in mosques.”

He also advocated the introduction of language tests for imams, saying that many Islamic preachers delivering sermons in German mosques have little or no command of German, as they have come from abroad, according to Berliner Morgenpost. 

Spahn, who maintains that many imams preaching in Germany are on the payrolls of other countries, stressed that it was unacceptable that the authorities “did not know how many mosques there are in Germany, where they are or who finances them.”

Authorities “did not know how many mosques there are in Germany,

where they are or who finances them”

The CDU’s calls for the ‘Islam law’ have come as the outcome of Germany’s September elections look increasingly uncertain. Throughout the past months, more and more conservative voters have turned to the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has gained in popularity since the refugee crisis of 2015.

At the CDU’s last convention in December of last year, Merkel called for a ban on full-face veils “wherever legally possible,” signaling that she was ready to take a tougher stance on immigration and refugee issues.

Merkel’s CDU Human Rights Speaker Quits Party over ‘Open Door’ Policy

President of the German Federal Association of Expellees (Bund der Vertriebenen, BdV) Erika Steinbach (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel © Thomas Peter / Reuters

A human rights spokesperson for Chancellor Merkel’s CDU is quitting the conservative party citing sharp discontent with the government’s “political will” to let thousands of unidentified refugees in, despite the risk of terrorists slipping through as well.

Erika Steinbach, a longtime member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the party’s human rights spokesperson, explained her demarche in a Saturday interview with Die Welt.

“Would I vote CDU at the moment? No. Would I join the CDU today? No. I can only draw the honest conclusion of quitting the CDU,” she told the newspaper. 

Steinbach, who until recently was a member of the CDU faction’s leadership, maintained that the government’s decision to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers into Germany without checking their identity went “against our laws and against EU treaties.”

She claimed that Merkel’s cabinet had deliberately encouraged illegal immigration: “At the Federal Office for Migration, thousands of passports have been identified as counterfeit, without any legal consequences for the respective migrants being drawn. There is a political will behind it.”

She also argued that the failure to identify new arrivals has resulted in a security lapse that has allowed terrorist organizations to send their operatives into Europe.

“With migrants came not only asylum seekers, but also – as many warned from the very outset – terrorists. Our security environment has significantly deteriorated since opening the borders,” Steinbach said.

CDU’s leadership has yet to comment on her decision to resign, though Manfred Pentz, the party head from Steinbach’s home state of Hessen, said that it was “predictable.”

“It would be consistent if she also laid down her Bundestag mandate [her credentials as a lawmaker] which she… owes to the party,” Pentz said.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper has reported that the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party promptly received Steinbach’s resignation. 

AfD Vice-chairman Alexander Gauland said he will “reach Mrs Steinbach very soon and discuss her future political plans.”

While Steinbach said she isn’t tempted to join the AfD, she expressed hope the party will enter the parliament after September’s general election “so that there is finally an opposition.”

Steinbach herself was the subject of intense criticism last year when she posted an image depicting a blonde child surrounded by South Asian-looking women with a caption atop reading “Germany 2030” and one below with the women asking the child, “Where are you from then?”

"Germany 2030, Where are you from then?"

Many considered the tweet to be openly racist and xenophobic. The backlash forced Steinbach to produce an awkward statement that read, “It is not an aggressive photo, there are no Arabic refugees depicted, just friendly Indians looking curiously and [interestedly] at a child,” as cited by Deutsche Welle.

She also waded into hot water in 2012 when she claimed Hitler’s NSDAP was “a left party” because it had the words “socialist” and “workers’” in its name – a statement that also triggered a barrage of criticism in the German media.

Germany took in some 890,000 asylum seekers in 2015 alone, but the number dropped to 280,000 the following year due to the closure of the ‘Balkan route’ and a migrant deal struck between the EU and Turkey to stem the flow of refugees into Europe, according to AFP.

I suspect there are some polls behind this move with an election in 9 months, otherwise the timing is curious. The reasons she states were more applicable a year or two ago than they are now, so why did it take so long for her to decide?

‘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.

Germany's Merkel Shuffles to the Right As She Calls for Burqa Ban

By Ed Adamczyk, UPI

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at a Christian Democratic Union party conference in Essen, called for a ban on wearing Muslim burqas in public as she opened her election campaign for a fourth term as chancellor. Photo by Kay Nietfeld/Europeanm Pressphoto Agency

ESSEN, Germany -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday called for a ban on use of the burqa, commonly used by Muslim women to fully veil their faces.

She addressed her stance on the topic at the start of a meeting of her Christian Democratic Party, or CDU, in Essen.

"For us that means: Show your face," she said. "Therefore the full-body veil is not appropriate, it should be banned wherever it's legally possible."

The comment, meant to present a tough image on conservative Islam despite her welcome of more than 1 million mostly Muslim immigrants to Germany in 2015, was greeted with approval and applause.

Actually, it was 900,000 apparently.

Her call for a burqa ban, which is worn in public in Germany by very few women, could be seen as a pragmatic shift to the right for Merkel. With the election in the United States of Donald Trump and Britain's vote to exit the European Union, Merkel is regarded by many as the only remaining symbol of liberal democracy in the industrialized world, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

I guess Canada and Sweden don't count in the Post's industrialized world?

She used her strongest language yet to back a ban on Islamic coverings suggested by her party's conservative members. Some have called for legislation making it an offense to wear burqas in courtrooms, government buildings, and while driving or attending demonstrations.

In the past Merkel has been critical of Islamic veils as an obstacle to assimilation in Germany, but her comments seemed designed to appease those who say her welcome of asylum seekers has been reckless and damaging to Germany. Immigration to Germany was scaled back in 2016, and Tuesday she reinforced the policy, saying, "A situation like the one in the late summer of 2015 cannot, should not and must not be repeated."

Merkel was renominated by the party, receiving 89.5 percent of the votes from approximately 1,000 delegates present. It was the ninth time that Merkel was elected party leader; she has led the CDU for nearly 17 years.