“Stop talking about individual cases”

For CDU leader Friedrich Merz, migration is now a top priority. At the request of the Union faction, the almost empty Bundestag debated on Wednesday how politicians should respond to the murder of Philippos T. in Bad Oeynhausen. Not least because, according to Merz, “people who emigrated to Germany and integrated well” were outraged by such incidents. Police officers and volunteer local politicians are also affected by the problems of uncontrolled immigration.

“The consequences of uncontrolled immigration do not first hit us here in Berlin. They encounter police officers who increasingly doubt whether the circumstances are still manageable; or local politicians who can barely keep up with the challenges.”

— Friedrich Merz (@_FriedrichMerz) July 3, 2024

“Stop talking about individual cases,” he warns at the lectern. The crime, like the Islamist knife attack in Mannheim, is part of a long series of serious violent crimes committed by migrants in recent months. “If we don’t act quickly, the foundations of our flourishing coexistence will be destroyed!”

The federal government should also no longer be allowed to profit from this “failed social integration” talk, said the leader of the Union faction. A clear message to the Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser (SPD), who was present. A few days ago, she complained that the Syrian murderer of Philippos T. had known ‘nothing else’ than refugee reception since his arrival in Germany eight years ago. A lie, as it turned out later. Now the minister listens with a shake of her head – and her party colleague Lars Castellucci later defends her. “It is her clear attitude that is reflected in her daily work: such acts will not be tolerated.” With her statement, she showed no sympathy for the perpetrator.

“Don’t accuse me of campaign noise”

But the Union must also accept criticism – including from Bernd Baumann of the AfD. “Mr. Merz, they are your murderers, your rapists, your violent criminals,” he shouts. Baumann calls on the CDU leader to apologize for what his party has done under Angela Merkel over the past 16 years. His angry speech prompted an intervention from Petra Pau, Vice President of the Bundestag (left): “We must not accuse each other of having this perpetrator in our ranks.”

For Baumann, it is clear why the Union wants to discuss this: “The elections in the East are just around the corner – and the AfD is far ahead.” Saxon Interior Minister Armin Schuster contradicts this. “Please don’t accuse me of campaign noise, I’ve been talking about this topic since 2014,” warns the CDU politician. The representatives of the federal states can also speak in the Bundestag. Nevertheless, Schuster’s intervention is unusual. He praises his party’s “significant course correction” after the asylum crisis in 2015. And calls for “acute measures”: intensify border controls, reject people according to third-country regulations and end the immediate admission program for Afghan local workers.

“None of your measures would have prevented the crime in Bad Oeynhausen”

Measures that seem incomprehensible to SPD MP Helge Lindh: “I don’t see the connection.” This form of dealing is not serious and does not do justice to the subject. “Unfortunately, the relatives of Philippos T. had to remind us to turn on the instrumentalization machines,” he warns, referring to the CDU and the AfD.

Many in the plenary hall at least refer to the victim’s family. Julian Pahlke of the Greens, for example, quoted his uncle: “Philippos was clearly against the right – just like us.” For Pahlke, more cooperation with Islamic associations and a targeted deployment of undercover agents are needed instead of “ineffective” suggestions. “After every debate we hear calls for measures – and none would have prevented these acts, neither in Mannheim nor in Bad Oeynhausen,” he shouts – and is promptly criticized by the Union and the AfD.

There is a politician missing from the lectern

Konstantin Kuhle of the FDP is a bit calmer. He speaks of “young men from the Arab region” who “have no respect for the institutions of our constitutional state”, who believed that being elected was a solution to the problems and who had a problematic understanding of their own masculinity “when dealing with women. Like the murderer of Philippos T., they encounter a state that fails to send asylum seekers back to their country of origin.

He also comments on Faeser’s quote. There is something problematic about talking about ‘integration problems’ when it comes to rejected asylum seekers. “Such a person should not really be in Germany.” Yet he defends the traffic light policy. Whether it is the extended detention pending deportation, the planned migration agreements, the payment card or the EU asylum compromise.

The participants do not skimp on sharp words, aggressive rhetoric and warnings to the opposing party. However, an important representative of the traffic light waives her right to vote, as Nina Warken (CDU) notes. “I would have liked, dear Minister of the Interior Faeser, if you had taken the opportunity to speak here instead of commenting from the sidelines.”