Political Chatter

Since 2013, the topic most in conflict by all political parties in public forums is immigration, migration, and asylum.  Most Germans (working-class type) will say that public forums were hyped to promote immigration and asylum between 2013 and late-2015.  After the New Year's Eve business in Koln on 31 December 2015....things went into a different direction.

For the CDU party, it's been a difficult path because Chancellor Merkel has been strongly attached to the idea of pro-asylum and pro-immigration.  It's been their primary theme for five-plus years now.

So I noticed via ARD's (public TV, Channel One) coverage this morning....the new party chief of the CDU (AKK, Kramp-Karrenbauer)....has decided to open the party discussion on the topic.

The quote here by AKK: "We will look at the whole issue of immigration from the protection of the external border to the asylum procedures to the point of view of integration."

Are CDU members shocked?  No.  My interpretation is that they are a bit relieved that it has finally come up to be openly discussed.  Why AKK has taken this move?  About a month ago, they wrapped up the leadership of the party business, and AKK won out over Merz.  Some CDU and journalists thought that Merz would go away.  Well....he didn't.  Merz intends to be some dynamic to drag the party along to dump some Merkel-policies.  He's hinted in a strong way that the whole immigration design has been wrong.  It's possible that the Chancellorship candidate for 2021 might be Merz, unless AKK can prove herself.  So this immigration talk is part of the effort to ensure Merz doesn't get ahead.

What might come out of the CDU talk?  I would suggest three things:

1.  They might agree on some need for a constitutional change, to reword the paragraph about the right to asylum.  Don't worry....they just want to suggest this....the SPD and opposition parties won't dare agee to it.

2.  They might agree to some prison-like environment for all migrants who commit crimes and need to be deported.  Don't worry about this idea....the SPD and opposition parties won't dare agree to it.

3.  They might agree to a strong division of the wording for asylum-due-to-war, and economic-job-seekers.  Oddly enough, most of that philosophy has already been adapted....even agreed upon by the SPD and opposition parties. 

So this is fake 'corrective-path'?  Yes, in simple terms.  To make people think they are resolving the problems, when they can't.  AKK needs to block Merz from getting more public attention....even if it means pretending to be the 'undoer' of Chancellor Merkel's policies.