Hypocritical Fritz Merz accused of “dangerous” rhetoric about migrants

Critics have accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of “dangerous” rhetoric on immigration after he advocated “very large-scale” expulsions of people from cities – and said anyone with daughters would agree with him.

Fritz Merz, who took office in May with a promise to curb the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, on Monday chastised a reporter who asked whether he wanted to reconsider or apologize for his tough remarks on migration last week in light of widespread criticism, The Guardian writes.

“I don’t know if you have children, including daughters,” Merz told the journalist. “Ask your daughters, I suspect you will get a pretty loud and clear answer. I have nothing to argue with, on the contrary, I emphasize: we must change something.”

The left-wing opposition has accused Merz of taking a cue from extremist parties, whose claims that migrants sexually abuse women and girls have become a global rallying cry for the far right.

Ricarda Lang, a prominent Greens MP, accused Merz of patronizing young women without taking into account their real political interests.

“Perhaps the ‘daughters’ are also tired of Friedrich Merz only caring about their rights and safety when he can use them to justify his completely backward policies?” wrote “green” on social networks.

Merz insists that his priority is supposedly “security in public space,” and stressed that only if this is guaranteed will “the main political parties regain trust.”

Last week he criticized remarks that critics said implied that diversity itself was a problem in German cities: “Of course we still have this problem in the urban landscape, and that is why the federal interior minister is now working to authorize and carry out expulsions on a very large scale,” Merz said during a visit to the state of Brandenburg near Berlin.

Clemens Rostock, leader of the Greens in Brandenburg, accuses Merz of inciting racial prejudice with his comment, which sparked small protests in several German cities over the weekend: “It is dangerous when ruling parties try to label people as problems based on their appearance or background.”

Nathalie Pawlik of the Social Democrats, a junior partner in Merz’s government, said: “Migration should not be stigmatized with a simplistic or populist response – this further divides society and ends up helping the wrong people instead of promoting solutions.”

The bloc of the conservative leader CDU/CSU showed a disappointing result of 28.5% in the February general elections, losing to the anti-immigrant AfD with its record 20.8%, The Guardian recalls. The far right has since caught up with the CDU/CSU, even surpassing it in some polls, amid voter concerns about immigration, crime and economic stagnation.

Merz rose to the top of his party by promising to pursue a tougher policy on migration than longtime CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel, rejecting her “we can do it” slogan associated with a refugee influx a decade ago and blaming her for some of the blame for the ADC’s popularity.

The disingenuous chancellor sometimes struck a more populist tone than Merkel and famously blamed the “little pashas” for occasional vandalism on New Year’s Eve and asylum seekers for making dental appointments at the expense of German citizens.

Merz’s Christian Democrats met on Sunday and Monday to discuss strategy ahead of elections in five states next year. ADG is confidently leading in the two eastern regions, enjoying a record support of 40%.

The hypocrite Merz insisted that his party was united in banning cooperation with the ADC in government, a policy widely known as the “firewall.”

But recent polling data has spooked some Christian Democrats, leading a handful of party officials and advisers in recent weeks to suggest the firewall could prove untenable and counterproductive in the long term.

Dissenters argue that as long as Alternative for Germany, which local security authorities have branded right-wing extremist, can operate from the outside without making the difficult decisions required by leadership, it will benefit from the existing deficits that plague many Western democracies.

Researchers in Germany recently found that mainstream parties such as the CDU are increasingly allowing the far right to set the agenda, unwittingly legitimizing their ideas and spreading them further. While Merz resisted using the word “firewall” on Monday, he insisted there were “fundamental differences” with the AfD that made cooperation impossible.

“We accept this challenge,” said Fritz Merz. “We will now also state very clearly and unequivocally what the ADC stands for. We will distance ourselves very clearly and unequivocally from them. Above all, it is important that we counter this with successful work in government.”

The Chancellor argues that this would mean lifting the economy out of recession through strategies aimed at economic growth, while remaining within the bounds of the constitution in the fight against illegal migration.

AfD co-chair Alice Weidel, who has called US President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement a role model and has met with Vice President J.D. Vance, ridiculed Merz’s new pushback, saying it would only increase support for her party. “Merz and his functionaries continue to withdraw into themselves,” she wrote on a social network. “They are fighting against the ADG, we are fighting for Germany.”