AfD parliamentary group leader in Saxony, Jörg Urban, said “The CDU has long since capitulated to the Islamists.”
It is becoming increasingly difficult to shock readers with new economic numbers, given Germany’s ongoing economic decline. Yet a 19% plunge in machinery orders in September manages exactly that
The German economy is sinking ever deeper into recession. In its latest business survey, the Institute of the German Economy (IW) now also sees mounting pressure on the labor market.
When Angela Merkel opened Germany’s borders to a million refugees in 2015, she became the embodiment of “Willkommenskultur” – the postwar concept of being kind and welcoming to immigrants.
Ten years on, a new German word has emerged that reflects the dramatic shift in attitudes towards migration: “Rückführungsoffensive”, or repatriation offensive.
After Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, claimed the country had been “overwhelmed” by refugees , his government has drawn up a plan that aims to significantly increase the number of asylum seekers returning to their countries of origin.
With an estimated 700,000 Syrians and 400,000 Afghans living under refugee status in Germany, the repatriation offensive is set to target up to a million people with a carrot-or-stick approach to returning home.
Friedrich Merz has told Syrian refugees to go home or face deportation from Germany as he insisted the war-torn Middle Eastern state was safe for them to return.
The chancellor suggested that all Syrian citizens without German passports or residence permits should return to help rebuild their country.
Speaking on Monday night, the centre-Right Christian Democrats (CDU) leader said: “The Syrian civil war is over, there is absolutely no reason to claim asylum in Germany anymore and we can therefore begin with repatriations.”
