Overview
- Cem Özdemir calls the national discussion triggered by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's remarks "holzschnittartig" and faults the chancellor for describing problems without offering solutions.
- He highlights archaic, patriarchal structures in some migrant-influenced milieus as a particular threat to women.
- He notes that people with migration backgrounds feel unsafe in parts of East Germany because they do not fit dominant appearance expectations.
- He urges efforts that include confronting toxic masculinity and the notion of criminality as a lifestyle to improve safety in public spaces.
- Context: Merz's mid-October comments linked urban problems to migration and referenced expanded returns by the Interior Ministry, which he later narrowed to irregular migrants, while Özdemir campaigns as the Greens' lead candidate in next year's Baden-Württemberg election.