Overview
- At a joint appearance in Potsdam, Chancellor Friedrich Merz cited an approximately 60% year‑on‑year drop in August migration and linked a continuing “problem” in the public “Stadtbild” to stepped‑up returns.
- Leaders from the Greens, SPD and the Left denounced the wording as disrespectful or discriminatory, with calls for an apology and warnings that such rhetoric fuels division.
- A government spokesperson urged against over‑interpreting the line and stressed that Merz spoke in his capacity as CDU party chairman.
- Some CDU/CSU figures and the FDP’s general secretary defended the thrust by pointing to safety and enforcement concerns, while the CDU leadership reaffirmed its 2018 non‑cooperation stance toward the AfD ahead of a party presidium meeting.
- Commentary questioned the vagueness of “Stadtbild” and referenced a Baden case in which entrepreneur Martin Herrenknecht removed municipal flower boxes to illustrate the broader civic debate.