Overview
- Thousands gathered outside CDU headquarters in Berlin, with police estimating about 2,000 attendees and organizers citing roughly 7,500.
- Armin Laschet called the phrasing too nebulous and cautioned that the AfD could exploit the vagueness by later claiming nothing changed.
- SPD figures accused the chancellor of stoking xenophobia and social division, saying his words offer no concrete solutions.
- Green deputy leader Misbah Khan said the rhetoric echoes the AfD and highlighted a shortage of around 12,000 places in women’s shelters.
- The head of the Turkish Community in Germany argued urban problems stem largely from socioeconomic factors, as regional CDU leaders defended concerns about public safety and troubled districts.