Friedrich Merz

Government & Politics

German government nears deal with Taliban on deportations The German government is maintaining its tough stance on the deportation of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan. Critics say promises made to former personnel now at risk of reprisals should be honored.

September 19, 2025   

(Deutsche Welle) Despite strongly worded criticism from numerous aid organizations, the German government has now confirmed a report in the mass-circulation newspaper Bild that envoys of Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt are holding talks in Afghanistan with the ruling Islamist Taliban about deportations […]

Academics & Education

Antisemitism in Germany: Rising fear among Jews after October 7 pogrom As the notion of 'memory culture' fades, Jewish voices in Germany express unease about the future of solidarity.

September 9, 2025   

(European Conservative) Since the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the climate for Jews in Germany has changed dramatically. Many report that they no longer feel safe, neither on the streets nor in educational institutions. Jewish families in Germany […]

Crime

German-Afghan relations under scrutiny over deportations The German government's policy of deporting Afghan criminals to Afghanistan relies on cooperation with the Taliban government in Kabul. The Islamists are hoping this is the first step toward diplomatic recognition.

July 24, 2025   

(Deutsche Welle) “We have succeeded in organizing another deportation flight with convicted criminals to Afghanistan,” German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a press release on July 18, following the departure of a plane from Leipzig to Kabul with 81 Afghan men with […]

Academics & Education

‘Here, Islam is the boss’: The nightmare of a gay Jewish teacher in Berlin’s migrant schools Uziel Inácio-Steck recounts a harrowing experience of harassment and isolation, exposing systemic failures in immigrant-heavy schools where conservative Muslim values clash with German liberalism

July 2, 2025   

(Ynet) What began as a mission of inclusion for Uziel Inácio-Steck, a 43-year-old Jewish gay teacher from Brazil, ended in isolation, harassment and trauma. His story — reported by Thorsten Schmitz in Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung — sheds light on what many educators […]

Government & Politics

Prepare for tough love on migration as Denmark takes over EU presidency Denmark's prime minister Mette Frederiksen pioneered hard-line migration policies despite being on the left. Now she's bringing her special formula to the EU stage.

June 24, 2025   

(Politico) Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has built a reputation for herself as Europe’s tough-love social democrat, with a hard line on migration that’s earned her more critiques from the left than from the right. Now she’s getting a chance to test-drive […]

Government & Politics

German Cabinet approves stricter asylum measures The German government has proposed several new measures as it pushes on with plans to further curb irregular migration. This comes despite a legal setback this week when a court ruled pushbacks at the border unlawful.

June 4, 2025   

(Deutsche Welle) The German Cabinet on Wednesday approved several measures to tighten Germany’s asylum laws, including a plan to make it easier to determine “safe countries of origin” and thus to deport rejected asylum-seekers. This comes after another policy put in place […]

Government & Politics

Germany: Solingen knife attack trial set to begin The trial of a Syrian man accused of killing three people in a knife attack in the western city of Solingen last August has brought Germany's asylum policies and security loopholes into focus.

May 26, 2025   

(Deutsche Welle) The man accused of a mass stabbing at a festival in the western German city of Solingen is due to face court in the North Rhine-Westphalia capital of Dusseldorf. Federal prosecutors have charged Syrian Issa Al H. with three counts […]

Crime

Germany turns first asylum seekers away at border — report In the two days since the new German government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz tightened border controls, 19 people who had applied for asylum have reportedly been turned away.

May 11, 2025   

(Deutsche Welle) Germany has begun rejecting asylum seekers at its borders with other European countries, the first such action since the new government tightened immigration, a German newspaper reported Sunday. On Thursday and Friday, out of 365 undocumented entries at all borders, 286 migrants and […]

Government & Politics

German government denies report on ‘national emergency’ plan to curb migration 'The chancellor is not declaring a national emergency,’ government spokesman Stefan Kornelius tells BILD newspaper

May 8, 2025   

(Anadolu) The German government on Thursday denied a media report which said that Chancellor Friedrich Merz had declared a state of “national emergency” to restrict migration. “The chancellor is not declaring a national emergency,” government spokesman Stefan Kornelius told the BILD newspaper. […]

Government & Politics

Germany continues Afghan migrant flights despite coalition pledge The outgoing government continues to bring in migrants, sparking controversy over security risks and broken promises.

April 14, 2025   

(European Conservative) Germany’s government is moving forward with plans to bring in more Afghan migrants, despite the incoming CDU/CSU-SPD coalition’s promise to shut down these resettlement programs. A flight carrying over 150 Afghans is set to arrive in Leipzig soon, according to […]

Citizenship

Germany could withdraw citizenship due to ‘antisemitism’ 'Terror supporters, antisemites and extremists' could have their German citizenship revoked — if they hold a second nationality, according to planning documents. Critics of the move say it will lead to unequal treatment.

April 1, 2025   

(Deutsche Welle) The ongoing coalition negotiations between the conservatives of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) are said to have been riddled with heated arguments — sometimes to the point of doors […]

Context

Deadly knife attack reignites France’s politically charged immigration debate How the government responds to Saturday’s tragedy will have domestic and geopolitical ramifications.

February 26, 2025   

(Politico) French Prime Minister François Bayrou will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to draw up a response to a deadly weekend knife attack in the Alsatian city of Mulhouse. The alleged perpetrator of the incident is a 37-year-old Algerian citizen, a French […]

Demonstrations

Munich car ramming attack by Afghan man heats migrant debate Police said the man from Afghanistan who allegedly drove his car into a crowd of people in Munich was motivated by Islamism.

February 14, 2025 , and   

(Deutsche Welle) On Thursday morning, a young man drove his car into a crowd of demonstrators in the center of Munich. The suspected perpetrator was named by police as 24-year-old Farhad N., an asylum-seeker from Afghanistan. He was arrested at the scene and, […]

Government & Politics

Immigration: German voters want to accept fewer refugees A majority of Germans believe the country should accept fewer refugees, according to the latest Deutschlandtrend poll. However, most are in favor of EU-wide solutions and are against their country 'going it alone.'

January 31, 2025   

(Deutsche Welle) The date January 29, 2025, will be remembered for a long time in Germany. It was the day the conservative group comprising the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union, the largest opposition force in the Bundestag, put forward a […]

Government & Politics

Germany’s far-right firewall weakens as Merz pledges migration crackdown Germany’s conservative candidate, Friedrich Merz, suggested he’d push through tougher migration measures even with AfD support.

January 24, 2025 , and   

(Politico) German conservatives’ determination not to play ball with the far right is ebbing away. Friedrich Merz, favorite to be chancellor after next month’s election, signaled he’d try to push tougher migration measures through parliament even if passage depends on the support […]

Children & Teens

Scholz hardens rhetoric on migrants after fatal knife attack The chancellor, lagging in the polls ahead of the Feb. 23 election, called for an investigation into why the Afghan suspect was even in Germany.

January 22, 2025 and   

(Politico) Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s response to a fatal knife attack allegedly perpetrated by an Afghan man in southern Germany on Wednesday marks a clear shift in his rhetoric on migration ahead of a national election. The attack on a group of pre-school […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

‘Insane’ Magdeburg Christmas market attack turns up heat on Germany’s politicians Reports that suspect was a refugee from Saudi Arabia who hated Muslims raise complicated questions during German election campaign.

December 21, 2024 and   

(Politico) The German government is reeling from an attack on a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg that saw at least five people killed when a car apparently driven by an “Islamophobic” Saudi Arabian refugee plowed into Friday evening crowds. With […]

Government & Politics

Deadly Magdeburg Christmas market attack shakes Germany as election looms With voters going to the polls in February, the tragedy ramps up concerns about security.

December 20, 2024 and   

(Politico) A driver plowed a car at high speed into crowds of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, adding further tension to an election campaign already riven by a bitter debate over migration. Right-wing parties seized […]