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Palmer and Juso Leader Clash on 'Maischberger' Over Welfare, Migration and the AfD

The exchange followed the cabinet decision to shift new Ukrainian arrivals from Bürgergeld to asylum benefits.

Overview

  • On the WDR/ARD show, Boris Palmer and Juso chief Philipp Türmer argued over the government’s Bürgergeld reform, migration and crime, and how to handle the AfD.
  • The cabinet move reclassifying new Ukrainian arrivals under the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz drew support from Palmer, while Türmer warned it would hinder quick entry into work and create only losers.
  • Palmer claimed violent crime has clearly risen and said Iraqis, Syrians and Afghans are heavily overrepresented, assertions Türmer rejected while citing Offenbach’s safety record to dispute a simple migration–crime link.
  • Proposing a test of AfD “responsibility,” Palmer suggested limited participation in an eastern state under CDU safeguards, which Türmer opposed as dangerous as he backed pursuing a constitutional party ban.
  • In the same broadcast, former finance minister Christian Lindner criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s pension leadership and questioned the balance of burdens between younger workers and retirees.