German elections: summary of the manifestos
by Marta Regalia
General elections will be held in Germany on Sunday, 24 September 2017 to elect all the members of the Bundestag, the lower house. The House of Representatives is composed of 598 seats (but the number is not fixed) elected by personalized proportional representation. Voters have two votes: one for the uninominal districts which elects half of the House, and one for a list in the proportional part.
Although 38 parties have managed to get on the ballot in at least one state, the major parties that are likely to either exceed the threshold of 5% or to win a single-member constituency are: Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU), Social Democratic Party (SPD), The Left (Linke), Alliance 90/The Greens (Grünen), Free Democratic Party (FDP), and Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The Christian Democratic Union (German: Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands, CDU), with its Bavarian counterpart the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (German: Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern, CSU), is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party. The leader of the CDU, Angela Merkel, is the current Chancellor of Germany. In its program, the CDU/CSU relates the issue of immigration to the issue of the future of the EU. The CDU/CSU wants a strong, confident, dynamic, free, secure, and prosperous Europe. To this end, the CDU/CSU supports the proposed European Defence Union and European Defence Fund. It claims for the effective control of its external borders against illegal immigration by strengthening the Frontex border agency, and complete the European Asylum System. It proposes the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement as a model for signing treaties with other countries. It also underlines EU Member States shared responsibility for refugees who have a right to protection if they are threatened with persecution or serious hardship, stating that each country has to accept its responsibilities in this respect. However, it promises not to allow a repeat of the situation that arose in 2015 when many people in distress came in Germany during the largest movement of refugees since the post-war period by intensifying efforts to repatriate, or if necessary deport, people who have been refused asylum. To reduce the number of asylum seekers, CDU/CSU proposes to declare Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as safe countries of origin and to work with international organisations to improve the living conditions of refugees in their countries of origin. Finally, the CDU/CSU programme states the EU as a whole needs to improve information-sharing between member states’ security services and must establish an entry/exit register as soon as possible[1].
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) is a social-democratic political party. The party is led by Martin Schulz. The SPD is a strong supporter of the European project. It opposes populist and nationalist forces while working for stronger European cohesion and solidarity. To this aim, it proposes to reform European institutions, to strengthen European economy, to lower unemployment, to coordinate member states’ economic policies, to eliminate social dumping, to create a common fiscal regime, to strengthen a common security and defence policy, to improve the European infrastructural system and the welfare state. In its electoral manifesto, the SPD declares to be in favour of a more open, but controlled, immigration policy. The SPD wants to protect EU borders with a stronger role for Frontex and to redistribute refugees among EU member states. This latter point is crucial in the SPD concept of European cooperation: countries that welcome refugee should get extra-EU financing, while countries that refuse them should have substantial losses. It proposes to better integrate refugees but to send back people not entitled for asylum. The SPD wants a clearer immigration law and declares its commitment for a foreign policy of pacification and stabilization of war-torn countries so to fight against the main causes of migration. Moreover, to stop illegal immigration, SPD proposes new channels of legal economic immigration to attract the specialized workers Germany needs through a score system. Finally, the SPD manifesto promises quicker asylum procedures, a coherent integration policy and a better repatriation system through cooperation and agreements with countries of origin[2].
The Left (German: Die Linke, Linke), is a democratic, socialist and left-wing political party. Since mid-2012, it is co-chaired by Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger. In its manifesto, the party proposes to start the European Union all over again on a social rather than an economic base. They ask for a European action plan against unemployment and for a socially fair and eco-friendly economy. Regarding immigration, Die Linke rejects migration and integration policy that grants social and political rights on the basis of whether people are “of use” or “of no use” to capital. On the contrary, it promotes open borders for everyone, thinks the EU closed doors policy is inhuman, and consequently calls for abolition of the border agency FRONTEX. Die Linke does not proposes integration, but prefers multiculturalism. In its electoral manifesto, it offers German citizenship to all children born in Germany and whose parents live in Germany[3].
Alliance 90/The Greens (German: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Grünen), is a green political party focusing on ecological, economic, and social sustainability. Its leaders are Simone Peter and Cem Özdemir. In their programme, the Grünen hope for a more cohesive Europe, which can be stronger in foreign, social and environmental policies. “Europe is our home and our future” they say. As other parties, the Grünen link their proposed immigration policies to the central role the EU should play in this domain. They want Germany to continue to attract people who escape from war and violence. They want to regulate immigration rationally and to promote integration with the aim of a peaceful coexistence of people with different origins and religions. They then propose an immigration law through the establishment of an independent immigration and integration ministry which should favour skilled immigration. They promote a policy of economic, cultural, social and political integration and they support the ius soli. However, this must be based on the reciprocal and solid acceptance of the basic law and its values[4].
The Free Democratic Party (German: Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP) is a liberal political party. The FDP is led by Christian Lindner that presented an electoral manifesto claiming for an increased role of the European Union in immigration and asylum policies. The FDP asks for a fundamental reform of the EU institutions, which current state it harshly criticises, but sees in the EU itself the possible solution to the present problems. Thus, it asks for more integration and more European solutions to problems of environment, energy, immigration, security, etc. even if this should imply a multi-speed Europe. Regarding immigration, the FDP wants an effective protection of EU external borders through a strengthening of Frontex. However, it believes, the solution to the refugee emergency should be a more equal distribution of asylum seekers, that should be welcomed if their life is at risk. Internally, they do not want to stop immigration, which they deem necessary for a prosperous economy, but to regulate and control it, favouring qualified immigration. To this end, they propose an immigration law with a score system to attract the more qualified immigrants. Moreover, the FDP wants to allow refugees to work if they may have a long-term stay. At the same time, it is a firm proponent of integration and double citizenship[5].
Alternative for Germany (German: Alternative für Deutschland, AfD) is a right-wing Eurosceptic political party led by Frauke Petry and Jörg Meuthen. The party is strongly anti-European and proposes to leave both the EU and the Euro since, they claim, other countries and the ECB did not respect the Treaties. Moreover, the party is staunchly anti-immigration: it wants to change the international rules regarding refugees and asylum seekers and to immediately close the borders to protect German culture and welfare state. Afd wants Frontex to stop human rescue in the Mediterranean Sea and ask for a strong anti-Islam policy[6].
Figure 1 shows German parties’ positions on immigration and European Union. Negative values correspond to negative attitude towards the two issues. So, for example, Alternative for Germany (AfD) is very negative on both immigration and the EU, while the SPD is in favour of both European integration and a more open policy toward immigration.
Figure 1 – German parties’ positions on immigration and European Union
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[1] https://www.cdu.de/system/tdf/media/dokumente/170703regierungsprogramm2017.pdf?file=1&type=field_collection_item&id=9932
[2] https://www.spd.de/standpunkte/regierungsprogramm/
[3] https://en.die-linke.de/fileadmin/download/english_pages/programme_of_the_die_linke_party_erfurt_2011.pdf
[4] http://www.gruene.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente/BUENDNIS_90_DIE_GRUENEN_Bundestagswahlprogramm_2017_barrierefrei.pdf
[5] https://www.fdp.de/denkenwirneu
[6] https://www.afd.de/themen/