>Instead of retracting his comment, Merz doubled down. Asked by reporters on Monday whether he regretted his statement, he replied: “Ask your daughters, ask your friends – everyone will confirm this is a problem, at least after dark.” He added: “I have nothing to take back. On the contrary.”
>Yet as the outcry continued, Merz changed course late Wednesday and began to aggressively walk his comments.
>On the sidelines of a meeting between European officials and Western Balkan leaders in London, Merz read out a prepared statement, saying Germany valued its immigrant communities and that by *Stadtbild* he meant people without residence permits who did not stick to the rules.
>“Many of these also shape the public image of our cities. That is why so many people in Germany and other European Union countries – and this does not only apply to Germany – are now simply afraid to move around in public spaces,” Merz said. This affects train stations, underground stations and certain parks. ‘It shapes entire neighbourhoods, which also cause major problems for our police.’
>He added that Germany would continue to need immigration and said migrants were “an indispensable part of our labour market.”
>By the end of his statement, Merz appeared to have turned 180 degrees.
>“We simply cannot do without them anymore, no matter where they come from, what colour their skin is, and no matter whether they are first, second, third or fourth generation immigrants living and working in Germany.”
That’s funny, but at least he was forced to walk back his comment and defend immigration.
[deleted] on
[removed]
g4mble on
>Members of his coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD) **and the Greens**
Can I also live in this slightly better version of Germany?
Feisty_Vermicelli146 on
Well if you could ever get any paperwork processed for legal migration then people would not fall into the illegal category.
I speak from my own personal experience.
Tobipig on
What did he say?
Hunkus1 on
I didnt know you can apparently see their visa status by just looking at them but maybe Fotzen Fritz is just built different amd sees it with a single look.
pitschu on
The more you learn about how foreign ppl get framed by the media of Germany, the better you understand what Merz‘ comment was targeting at.
Quite sad, how we ignore scientific facts and how to deal with problems revolving around criminality in the long run for cheap populism.
Loves_His_Bong on
The CDU are basically bulletproof. They can say whatever the hell they want and face basically zero political repercussions.
Söder just said Germany without the auto industry is like a woman without a lower body. Other than a few angry TikToks, he hasn’t faced any backlash at all for what quite frankly should be seen as a quote bad enough to disqualify him from public office.
Nobody that cares about the Stadtbild comment was voting for the CDU in the first place.
MHZ_93 on
Yup, you can *definitely* tell the visa status of a person by their physical appearance *oops I meant colour of their skin* /s
rowschank on
On one hand, obviously Merz knows exactly what he’s saying and is probably secretly itching to form a coalition with the AfD in some manner.
On the other hand I also wish people would spend at least a tenth of the time spent talking about this comment about how the government is pissing away the extra debt they’ve taken in or how this government is a lobbyist’s wet dream… something that can actually try to address root causes of socio economic issues.
savvka on
Who is he under fire from? Comments on reddit?
ZDF has 61% agreeing with what he said based on the last polls.
DisclosedForeclosure on
How is “illegal immigrant” a race? Call it however you want, the problem remains, thanks to Frau Merkel.
P44 on
The comment wasn’t racist. It was factual. He was NOT refering to the skin colour or ethnicity of these problematic people. He was refering to how they are acting.
Feiiichy on
Interesting, r/Germany is much level-headed about this than r/Europe where Poles and Croats take immigration in Germany very seriously.
dankshot35 on
can’t let US just get away with becoming the beacon of traditional German values
Funny_Stock5886 on
Meh, he’s only saying the quiet part out loud, the stuff which I used to read on Facebook comments made by everyday Germans.
eGoSiGns on
Interesting, 67% of people agreeing with you is being under fire, I guess.
Tarele493 on
Depending on which bubble you are in.
He’s actually not criticized that much for it. There is (understandable) criticism coming from the left corner.
However, the majority of the population supports his statements.
Automatic-Pay-4095 on
Imagine judging how the cities in your country look like without even looking at yourself in the mirror
19 commenti
>Instead of retracting his comment, Merz doubled down. Asked by reporters on Monday whether he regretted his statement, he replied: “Ask your daughters, ask your friends – everyone will confirm this is a problem, at least after dark.” He added: “I have nothing to take back. On the contrary.”
>Yet as the outcry continued, Merz changed course late Wednesday and began to aggressively walk his comments.
>On the sidelines of a meeting between European officials and Western Balkan leaders in London, Merz read out a prepared statement, saying Germany valued its immigrant communities and that by *Stadtbild* he meant people without residence permits who did not stick to the rules.
>“Many of these also shape the public image of our cities. That is why so many people in Germany and other European Union countries – and this does not only apply to Germany – are now simply afraid to move around in public spaces,” Merz said. This affects train stations, underground stations and certain parks. ‘It shapes entire neighbourhoods, which also cause major problems for our police.’
>He added that Germany would continue to need immigration and said migrants were “an indispensable part of our labour market.”
>By the end of his statement, Merz appeared to have turned 180 degrees.
>“We simply cannot do without them anymore, no matter where they come from, what colour their skin is, and no matter whether they are first, second, third or fourth generation immigrants living and working in Germany.”
That’s funny, but at least he was forced to walk back his comment and defend immigration.
[removed]
>Members of his coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD) **and the Greens**
Can I also live in this slightly better version of Germany?
Well if you could ever get any paperwork processed for legal migration then people would not fall into the illegal category.
I speak from my own personal experience.
What did he say?
I didnt know you can apparently see their visa status by just looking at them but maybe Fotzen Fritz is just built different amd sees it with a single look.
The more you learn about how foreign ppl get framed by the media of Germany, the better you understand what Merz‘ comment was targeting at.
Quite sad, how we ignore scientific facts and how to deal with problems revolving around criminality in the long run for cheap populism.
The CDU are basically bulletproof. They can say whatever the hell they want and face basically zero political repercussions.
Söder just said Germany without the auto industry is like a woman without a lower body. Other than a few angry TikToks, he hasn’t faced any backlash at all for what quite frankly should be seen as a quote bad enough to disqualify him from public office.
Nobody that cares about the Stadtbild comment was voting for the CDU in the first place.
Yup, you can *definitely* tell the visa status of a person by their physical appearance *oops I meant colour of their skin* /s
On one hand, obviously Merz knows exactly what he’s saying and is probably secretly itching to form a coalition with the AfD in some manner.
On the other hand I also wish people would spend at least a tenth of the time spent talking about this comment about how the government is pissing away the extra debt they’ve taken in or how this government is a lobbyist’s wet dream… something that can actually try to address root causes of socio economic issues.
Who is he under fire from? Comments on reddit?
ZDF has 61% agreeing with what he said based on the last polls.
How is “illegal immigrant” a race? Call it however you want, the problem remains, thanks to Frau Merkel.
The comment wasn’t racist. It was factual. He was NOT refering to the skin colour or ethnicity of these problematic people. He was refering to how they are acting.
Interesting, r/Germany is much level-headed about this than r/Europe where Poles and Croats take immigration in Germany very seriously.
can’t let US just get away with becoming the beacon of traditional German values
Meh, he’s only saying the quiet part out loud, the stuff which I used to read on Facebook comments made by everyday Germans.
Interesting, 67% of people agreeing with you is being under fire, I guess.
Depending on which bubble you are in.
He’s actually not criticized that much for it. There is (understandable) criticism coming from the left corner.
However, the majority of the population supports his statements.
Imagine judging how the cities in your country look like without even looking at yourself in the mirror