Breakdown of migration talks: just a big show?

CDU leader Friedrich Merz says he regrets the breakdown of talks – just a tactic?

Source: IMAGO / Bernd Elmenthaler

But was there realistically any chance of an agreement?

When the talks were stopped in the afternoon, the blame game began. Because, unlike in 2015, when the idea of ​​closing the border was initially hidden from a much larger public, it is now being discussed in front of the assembled public.

Nancy Faeser (l.), Marco Buschmann, Annalena Baerbock (r.) at the press conference after the talks with the Union.

Source: dpa

At the first press conference, a visibly satisfied Baerbock was seen: “Obviously, some gentlemen were, it must be said, surprised that we are playing as a team here,” she said on the podium, where the traffic light coalition demonstrated its unity.

The Union, on the other hand, accuses the government of a kind of unwillingness to make a decision, as if they had already suspected that the coalition could not possibly agree to this.

The fact that the Union's demands have struck a chord with the traffic light coalition is evident from the hectic work in the Interior, Justice and Foreign Ministries over the past weekend. While there has been little public comment on the Union's conditions, there has been all the more zealous work on their own proposal to reject asylum seekers.

It has long been clear to the traffic light coalition that the previous practice of first taking in migrants and then clarifying their residency status after they have been distributed throughout the country is no longer appropriate. Too many municipalities are groaning under the burden of accommodation and the inability to guarantee integration. There is a lack of beds, doctors, daycare and school places.

It remains to be seen whether the traffic light model will work at all. In any case, an administration that can make decisions 24/7 would be a real novelty. However, it remains to be seen whether it will reduce the pressure of migration in the municipalities. In any case, the CDU chairman defended himself on Wednesday against the accusation that the Union's initiative was a staged event.

And so the impression remains that with the breakdown of the talks, everyone has lost: the opposition, whose push for the traffic light coalition failed, and the traffic light coalition, which held together but whose own plan seems more confused than practical.

ZDFheute on WhatsApp

Source: ZDF

---

Do you want to stay up to date? Then our ZDFheute WhatsApp channel is the right place for you. Whether in the morning with coffee, at lunchtime or after work – you will receive the most important news directly on your smartphone. Take part in surveys or get inspired by our mini podcast “Kurze Auszeit”. Simply sign up for our WhatsApp channel here: ZDFheute WhatsApp channel.