Controversy over “security package” in the German Bundestag
Published: Friday, Oct 18th 2024, 11:50
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There were controversial discussions about the German government's "security package" before the vote in the Bundestag in Berlin.
Representatives of the "traffic light" coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP defended the plans to tighten residence and weapons laws and to give security authorities more powers. The AfD and CDU/CSU, on the other hand, criticized them as insufficient.
The "traffic light" coalition launched the "security package" following the suspected Islamist-motivated attack in Solingen in August, which left three people dead and numerous others injured. It provides for stricter residence and weapons laws as well as more powers for the security authorities.
Minister: Violent offenders forfeit their right to protection
"We are banning knives at public events and enabling the federal states to issue more far-reaching knife bans. And this can also be checked without cause," said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD). The package will make it easier to deport foreign perpetrators of violence. "Anyone who commits acts of violence here forfeits their right to our protection."
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group would have liked more far-reaching regulations. "This so-called security package is largely ineffective," said domestic policy spokesperson Alexander Throm (CDU). The right-wing populist AfD complained about what it saw as a misguided migration policy. Clara Bünger (Left Party), on the other hand, spoke of ineffective sham solutions against extremism and Islamism.
FDP parliamentary group deputy leader Konstantin Kuhle admitted that the package did not go far enough, but was a step in the right direction. Konstantin von Notz, deputy leader of the Green Party, defended the changes as sensible and appropriate. The demands of the Christian Democrats in migration policy for blanket rejections at German borders endangered Europe.
Christian Democrats outraged
The fact that the "traffic light" coalition had prevented the CDU/CSU's proposals on migration and security policy from being voted on in the plenary debate in parliament's Committee on Internal Affairs caused anger - proposals from the AfD, on the other hand, were put to the vote. The First Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei (CDU), called this "an expression of completely chaotic government action". Andrea Lindholz (CSU), deputy leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, accused the traffic light of trickery. It was feared that FDP MPs would agree to Union motions.
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