Overview
- FOCUS and other outlets report that replacing the foreign minister is no longer ruled out and that he is isolated in the CDU/CSU group after a tense meeting where he compared Syria’s devastation to Germany in 1945.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that the Syrian civil war is over and said Germany can begin repatriations, then told lawmakers the migration shift will proceed, according to ZDF accounts of the session.
- Wadephul later clarified he supports deporting Syrian offenders and voluntary returns, but Interior Ministry figures show only 920 Syrians without toleration plus 9,780 with temporary permits are currently required to leave out of about 950,000 people of Syrian origin.
- Political pressure has grown from the AfD and some CDU state leaders pushing quick returns, while voices from the SPD and the Left, including Heidi Reichinnek, defended Wadephul’s on-the-ground assessment.
- He remains in office and is scheduled to represent Germany at the EU–Latin America summit in Colombia, as scrutiny of his record — including a canceled China trip that drew both criticism and support — continues.