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Germany: Stop Playing With Fire


At exactly 12 PM on January 29, the German parliament gathered in Berlin for a memorial service in honour of the Holocaust victims. The occasion marked the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet army 80 years and two days ago, serving as an annual reminder of how rapidly power in the wrong hands can lead to the complete and utter failure of humanity. Holocaust survivor Roman Schwarzmann gave a speech at the service, recounting his past as German politicians appeared to listen intently to his words.


The speech ended with a plea for a better future:

“The memory of National Socialism must guide us and oblige us to build a future in which compassion and justice are not empty words.”


As Schwarzmann left the podium, the hall erupted into a standing ovation.


Later that day, the parliament reassembled for a drastically different matter. Members voted on a motion brought forward by none other than Friedrich Merz, chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the leading candidate in the polls for next month’s national election. Merz took the podium, recalling Schwarzmann’s speech that “had touched us all deeply.” He then seamlessly transitioned into advocating for his motion to reform Germany’s migration policy, entailing the total rejection of any refugee at the country’s borders – a blanket denial of all asylum claims, no matter the circumstances. His five-point plan is illegal under both EU and German law.


It must have been clear to any delegate present that votes in favour of Merz’s motion would come exclusively from the right half of the room. Doing the math, it was also obvious that a majority could only arise with support from the AfD – the populist and provenly anti-constitutional extreme right, with whom political collaboration had previously been deemed off-limits.


Robert Habeck, Minister of Economic Affairs from the Greens, warned before the vote about the implications it could have for German democracy: “If the CDU, on such an important matter, votes together with the AfD, at what point will they stop voting together?”


For the first time in Germany’s modern history, that question is now wide open.  


 

At exactly 4:41 PM on January 29, less than five hours after the memorial service, 267 members of two of Germany’s longstanding pro-democratic parties, the CDU and the economically liberal FDP, raised their hands alongside 75 AfD delegates. The motion passed with a narrow majority of four votes.


Friedrich Merz and the CDU knowingly accepted the AfD’s help in order to push through their migration plan. January 29, 2025, hereof marks the first time since the Holocaust that an extreme-right party has exerted direct influence on Germany’s decision-making. Granting the AfD the decisive vote has given them parliamentary power that they had previously been denied. The realisation dawns that the CDU’s actions that day were neither very Christian nor very democratic. And that the parliamentary vote had little in common with the historic responsibility that Schwarzmann had so impressively pledged mere hours before. 


Many say that the German Brandmauer – the firewall – has fallen with this vote. Since the atrocities of the Holocaust, the firewall has been used as a metaphor for an essential axiom in German politics: to categorically rule out all collaboration with the extreme right. The moment Germany’s most powerful conservative politician joined forces with the AfD to bring about an unlawful migration plan, a fundamental line was crossed. And even though its implementation was rejected at a later stage, there is no telling what might happen should Merz be elected chancellor at the end of this month.


Calling to mind Schwarzmann’s speech, it is now imperative to assume responsibility “for a future in which compassion and justice are not empty words”. If there is a fire in our midst, let’s put it out by means of democratic participation. For everyone living in Maastricht, there is a protest nearby in Aachen on February 8. That would be a great place to start.




The opinions expressed within this article are solely the author’s and are not affiliated with either the Maastricht Diplomat or UNSA.


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