Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has promoted the skilled trades in Dresden. "Training in the skilled trades offers young people future-proof and challenging professions and training opportunities," said the CDU politician at the training center of the Dresden Chamber of Skilled Crafts. He also talked to apprentices, master craftsmen and company owners. Merz is visiting various federal states on his chancellor tour - Saxony is currently on the agenda. He wants to complete the tour by the end of the year.
Merz does not address his comments on the "cityscape" again
In his statement, Merz did not address his controversial comments on migrants in the cityscape. Vocational training and the question of how to attract young people to skilled trades "is the main topic of my visit here today", explained Merz. The Chancellor had previously attended a cabinet meeting of the Saxon government.
Demonstration in front of the state chancellery
Multiple organizations had called for a protest against Merz in front of the state chancellery in Dresden. According to a dpa reporter, around 250 people gathered in front of the building - but by then the CDU politician was already on his way to his next appointment. Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Germany over the past two weeks because of the "Stadtbild" statements.
Merz had triggered the debate because he had said that the federal government was correcting previous failures in migration policy and making progress, "but of course we still have this problem in the cityscape, and that is why the Federal Minister of the Interior is now also in the process of facilitating and carrying out repatriations on a very large scale".
Merz recently specified that problems were caused by those migrants who did not have permanent residence status, did not work and did not abide by the rules. In a ZDF survey, 63 percent of respondents agreed with the CDU chairman's more precise statement.
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