FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai has criticized the culture of debate on migration issues. “The current course of the debate on the connection between child poverty and immigration shows once again that we in Germany are often not in a position to discuss migration policy issues objectively and on the basis of facts,” he told the German Press Agency in Berlin.
FDP boss and Finance Minister Christian Lindner had been sharply criticized for statements in this context. Against the background of the basic child security plan planned by the traffic light coalition, he raised the question of whether higher payments to parents would improve the situation of children or whether investments should be made in language support, integration, daycare centers and schools. Families who have immigrated to Germany since 2015 are particularly affected by child poverty, he explained. Figures from the Federal Employment Agency confirm this.
“If we don’t want to further strengthen populists and extremists, then we have to clearly identify the numerous challenges and deficits in migration and integration policy and tackle them aggressively,” explained Djir-Sarai. Otherwise disenchantment with politics would be fueled further. “One thing is clear: We need more immigration into the labor market, but less into the German social system. We have to achieve this trend reversal and we Free Democrats are actively committed to this in Germany and Europe.”
