Lindner wants rejection at German borders

The traffic light coalition continues to argue about asylum policy. Christian Lindner (FDP) has now called for decisive action – and named a model.

Berlin – Asylum policy has become a contentious issue in the traffic light coalition – exacerbated by the recent electoral successes of the AfD and the attack in Solingen. The demand by CDU leader Friedrich Merz for migrants to be turned away at the German border has also fueled the dispute. Now Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has spoken out and also shown himself open to rejections. Above all, he criticized the Greens’ stance, which he said was “not helpful.” The FDP leader would like to follow Denmark’s example. A good idea?

Lindner had already made a first move earlier this week. “People are fed up with the fact that this state may have lost control on immigration and asylum to Germany,” said the finance minister after his party had missed out on a place in the state parliaments of Saxony and Thuringia. This was reported by the news agency AFP.

Traffic light coalition under pressure after Merz demands – Lindner criticises the Greens for their concerns about asylum policy

In the meantime, he has upped the ante. “I can hardly stand the concerns that are being expressed and also the naivety in some cases,” he said to the ARD “Tagesschau” angry about the way the debate is going. German society is diverse and needs immigration, but it must be regulated. Control has been “lost for too long, we are working hard to get it back and for me the ambition and speed cannot be high enough,” the FDP politician continued.

Lindner apparently sees the position of the Greens in particular as a problem. They had expressed legal concerns about rejections – which is “not helpful for the talks that the government is having with the states and the CDU opposition”. According to him, there should be no “bans on thinking” on the matter.

Lindner sees tactical approach of Merz-CDU – He wants to get ahead of the AfD in asylum policy

The Merz CDU did not escape unscathed either. Lindner says he understands “the impatience” of the Union leader and share them. But that is not enough. “More needs to happen. But we all need to show humility. There are also CDU state governments in which there are enforcement deficits,” said the FDP politician. Above all, he accused the CDU of abusing asylum policy as a tactical instrument.

According to Linder, “state-supporting parties that are responsible at federal and state level” must soon offer a solution. Otherwise, even more people will “question the system” in the future and, as a result, join the AfD or BSW emigrate. He cited Denmark as a positive example of a functioning regulation. The social-liberal country has managed to keep right-wing populism in check through a stricter asylum policy. “We should dare to do more like Denmark in this sense,” said the Finance Minister.

Merz and Lindner dream of Denmark’s asylum policy – ​​Will the traffic light coalition oppose EU law?

The FDP politician is not the first to be impressed by the Danish model. In recent years, there have been repeated calls from politicians for the Scandinavian country to be used as a model for asylum policy. Before Lindner, CDU leader Merz spoke of Denmark as a model for migration at the end of August. But the matter is not as simple as it is claimed. Even if ethical concerns are ignored, many of the measures applied there are not in line with current law. EUDenmark can only implement these because it was granted special status when it joined in 1973. The Greens’ legal concerns are therefore justified.