Scholz attacks Merz in general debate: “You can’t do it”
Published: Wednesday, Sep 11th 2024, 15:30
Back to Live Feed
Following the failure of the migration talks to curb irregular immigration to Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and CDU leader Friedrich Merz have blamed each other in parliament.
In the Bundestag's general debate, Scholz accused the opposition leader in an unusually sharp speech of not having sought an agreement from the outset and of having followed a "script" of failure in the migration talks. "You have beaten the bushes," said the Chancellor. Merz indignantly rejected this: "This allegation is infamous."
Merz only wants to talk about migration in the Bundestag
The Chancellor did offer to continue the talks with the CDU leader. "The door is not closed." However, the leader of the largest opposition faction, the CDU/CSU, now wants to shift the debate on migration policy to the Bundestag. He justified this by saying that the government could decide on the necessary measures with its own majority, as no amendment to the Basic Law would be necessary. This would require a two-thirds majority in parliament and therefore the approval of parts of the opposition.
"We will not enter into an endless loop of talks with you (...)," said Merz, adding: "You make the decisions in the government and we can continue to discuss everything else here in the German Bundestag."
The CDU leader declared the migration talks between the coalition government, the federal states and the CDU/CSU a failure after the second round on Tuesday. He explained that the coalition obviously did not see itself in a position to comprehensively reject migrants at Germany's national borders. "This means that the attempt to find a common path has failed."
Scholz: Traffic lights have ended "the big slogans"
Scholz sharply criticized this and attacked Merz personally. "You are the type of politician who thinks he has already solved the migration issue with an interview in Bild am Sonntag," he raged at the lectern. Merz had barely left the editorial offices before he had already forgotten what he had proposed. "You can't do it, that's the truth we're confronted with," said Scholz, addressing Merz and the CDU/CSU.
In contrast, his Ampel coalition - named after the colors of the three alliance parties SPD, Greens and FDP - had put an end to "the big talk" of CDU/CSU-led governments and achieved the "biggest turnaround in dealing with irregular migration". Among other things, Scholz referred to the acceleration of deportations, the federal government's security package, which will be discussed in the Bundestag for the first time this Thursday, and the planned common European asylum system. "Don't grumble, act and tackle. That is the motto," said Scholz.
Scholz with a clenched fist - Merz plays the statesman
The normally quiet Scholz spoke in the Bundestag at a volume that is usually associated with his election campaign speeches. He clenched his fist several times during his attacks on the CDU/CSU.
The opposition leader, on the other hand, refrained from harsh verbal attacks on the subject of migration and instead presented himself in a more statesmanlike manner. Merz firmly rejected accusations that the CDU/CSU was acting in a xenophobic manner. "Germany must remain an open and foreign-friendly country," he said. The Union stands "clearly and unequivocally against all forms of xenophobia and xenophobia".
Dobrindt as a department attack: "Coalition of descent"
Alexander Dobrindt, head of the CSU parliamentary group, opened the debate with the sharp attacks - a tactical maneuver. Normally, the leader of the largest opposition party's parliamentary group speaks first. In previous general debates, this gave Scholz the advantage of being able to react to Merz. This time it was the other way around.
Dobrindt used his opening speech for a general reckoning with the traffic light coalition. It was "not a coalition of progress, but a coalition of decline in this country", he said. "People are fed up with these traffic light excuses," criticized the CSU regional group leader, adding that people had "understood that whoever orders leadership from you will only get excuses. But that endangers security and social peace in our country."
Weidel calls Scholz "chancellor of decline"
AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel also sharply attacked Scholz and called him the "chancellor of decline". The citizens were being appeased with tokenism and migration summits, criticized Weidel, who spoke directly after Scholz. She called for "not letting illegal migrants into the country in the first place, but (to) close the borders and reject anyone who wants to enter Germany without legal entitlement and without papers". Her party won more than 30 percent of the vote in the state elections in the eastern German states of Thuringia and Saxony at the beginning of September.
Lindner calls for migration summit at top level
It remains to be seen what the next steps will be in migration policy. FDP leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner is calling for a new attempt at the highest level. Scholz and Merz should negotiate with Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and himself personally, Lindner wrote on Platform X. "The CDU/CSU's rejection of the asylum summit must not be the last word."
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr also called on the CDU/CSU in the Bundestag to cooperate. "I believe that people in Germany no longer have any understanding for a blockade on the issue of ordering and limiting migration," he said. The parliamentary group leader of the Greens, Katharina Dröge, accused the CDU/CSU of "politics without sense and reason" in the migration debate. "They simply had no interest in a sensible dialog and that is a big missed opportunity."
Scholz and Merz also disagree on Ukraine strategy
The general debate on the Chancellor's budget is the highlight of the first deliberations on the 2025 budget, which was presented to the Bundestag on Tuesday. Migration was the dominant topic in the debate, which is traditionally used to discuss government policy as a whole. However, it was also about foreign policy.
Scholz reiterated his call to hold another peace conference to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine - with Moscow at the table. "Now is the moment, now is the time to sound out what options are available," said the SPD politician.
Merz also rejected this suggestion. He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be persuaded to give up with such "peace and diplomacy rhetoric".
Although BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht supported diplomatic efforts to find a peace solution in Ukraine, she called on Scholz, among other things, to abandon the planned deployment of US missiles in Germany.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic