The debate about increasing migration numbers is getting louder – and with it the criticism of the government coalition. However, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil sees the danger of unrealistic political promises. Above all, he rejects the idea of a simple solution.
“I refuse to act as if there is a magic measure,” Klingbeil told Bild am Sonntag. “That delivers a populist headline, but it doesn’t mean that even one less person comes to Germany.”
In his view, an important role is played by the fact that Germany continues to rely on immigration to compensate for the shortage of skilled workers and the shrinking population. Dealing with immigrants is also crucial. “So that they come to us and want to stay here, we have to work on our welcoming culture for skilled workers,” says Klingbeil.
Faster decisions about residency status are also important. Asylum seekers should know within a few weeks whether they can stay – and then quickly get a work permit, says Klingbeil. “This is all taking too long for me. The workplace is an important place for integration and learning the German language.”
On the other hand, rejected asylum seekers should also leave the country more quickly. Klingbeil therefore believes that the increased controls at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (also SPD) is considering are “exactly right”.
The debate about increasing migration has been gaining momentum in recent months, while the poll numbers of anti-migration parties are rising. CDU leader Friedrich Merz recently turned directly to Chancellor Olaf Scholz – and made him a clear offer. “I offer you: let’s do this together,” he said on Saturday. “And if you can’t do it with the Greens, then throw them out: then we’ll do it with you – but we have to solve this problem.”
The Green Party’s top candidate in Hesse, Tarek Al-Wazir, also recently spoke of difficult but ultimately unavoidable decisions in the debate about migration. “Anyone who doesn’t have the right to stay at the end of a long procedure has to leave the country again. We have to enforce that too if we want to protect the right to asylum,” he told the “Editorial Network Germany.”
Sources: Bild am Sonntag, RND
