Overview

• The Social Democratic Party (SPD) has proposed a migration policy allowing 500,000 skilled workers annually, alongside voting rights for non-citizens and limited deportations.
• The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led by Friedrich Merz, opposes these measures, advocating stricter migration controls, including turning away asylum seekers at land borders.
• The CDU won the recent election with 28.6% of the vote but requires a coalition to govern, ruling out collaboration with the far-right AfD despite its strong electoral showing.
• SPD's pro-immigration demands include pathways to citizenship for undocumented migrants and automatic citizenship for those residing in Germany for over 25 years.
• The CDU faces internal and public pressure to adhere to its campaign promises of reducing immigration while navigating coalition talks with the SPD.