Statement on migration: Kretschmer backs Merz

Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer has justified a controversial statement by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (both CDU) with problems relating to migration. When asked about a quote from the Chancellor on migration in the cityscape, Kretschmer said in an interview with "Der Spiegel" that it was not about immigration as such, but about upholding common values.

Merz was asked about the rise of the AfD by a reporter during an appointment in Potsdam on Tuesday. In response, he said, among other things, that previous failures in migration policy were now being corrected and progress was being made. "But of course we still have this problem in the cityscape, and that is why the Federal Minister of the Interior is also in the process of facilitating and carrying out returns on a very large scale." The statement on the "cityscape" had provoked harsh criticism in some quarters.

Kretschmer said: "The newspapers are full of acts of violence. People who we then find out are actually required to leave the country." It is not enough just to reduce the number of people coming to Germany, but also to "enforce our standards, our values. And there are people who come from other cultures. And you might want to add that they have experienced so many terrible things in their lives that they are not prepared or willing to abide by our rules."

Kretschmer: A lot has changed since 2014

Kretschmer said that Merz, from the Sauerland region, comes from a part of Germany that has always experienced a lot of migration, where it is completely uncomplicated. "And to be honest, I enjoy it when I'm in the Rhineland, North Rhine-Westphalia, especially in Cologne, this relaxed coexistence." However, a lot has changed since 2014. In addition to crime, people are also concerned with the question of whether migrants contribute to Germany's prosperity, said Kretschmer.

The Greens and the Left had sharply criticized Merz's statement. Green parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge said to Merz in the Bundestag: "How do you see the "problem" apart from the color of people's skin? How do you want to recognize this "problem"?" The chancellor's statement was hurtful, discriminatory and indecent.