There's a political piece today from N-TV (Germany's CNN-like news network), which talks over a page two-type story, which may, or may not.....have a big impact in the next two years.
Starting this evening....the CDU Party (Merkel's team), will be led by the new chief of the party, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK), will led this 'workshop' over the next 48 hours, and the key question is.....how can the CDU develop a refugee policy that the public appreciates, and yet is 'fair'.
Most of the big-name players of the CDU are invited to this discussion group. Merkel and the last Interior Minister....are not invited.
Out of this long chat forum (mostly all private and confidential talks).....I would suggest that most Germans will be skeptical. There will be some outline with twenty odd suggestions, of which you can dismiss half of them from ever reaching any level of implementation.
The driving problem here is that a EU election occurs in May, and three eastern Germany state elections later in the fall. To some degree, AKK needs to show the party is resolving problems and changing the asylum program....even when they are making minimum or marginal impact.
Some of the party elite are suggesting that the government coalition needs to have a asylum minister. It's an amusing suggestion and I would suggest in response that no one within the CDU would desire the job because it'd be a lightning rod for news media attention (all negative) and the opposition parties would be dragging the individual in the dirt on a continual basis.
What they could do? There are four basic ideas which would convince the public that something drastic has occurred, and downsize the voting pattern for the AfD Party:
1. Make it a blunt policy on asylum that anyone can apply (as the Constitution states), but it needs to be at a German embassy in the applicants home-country. And that individual needs to remain there until the application has been approved.
2. Failing the visa application while already in Germany.....should result in an immediate appeal review by a judge, within a ten-day period of failure. Currently, you could be looking at a appeal process taking anywhere from a year to three years. After the final stamp by this appeals judge.....you go to a fenced-in center and prepare to leave the country.
3. If the individual has arrived and appealed for a visa, the paperwork needs to show you have a passport of your home-country, and for the next three years (if approved for a visa).....commit no crimes beyond misdemeanor level. If you sold drugs, assaulted anyone, or were arrested for threats/intimidate situations.....your visa gets revoked and you need to leave fairly quickly.
4. Finally, make the asylum and immigration program a national program and take the running of the asylum programs out of the hands of cities and states.
My guess is that none of the four ideas will be on the list, and the general public mostly grins over the chatter of the CDU Party and it's weekend results.
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