SPD party conference - Klingbeil expects migration debate "without shouting"
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil expects a controversial debate on the topic of migration at the upcoming party conference of the largest governing party - but "without shouting". "Sometimes there are uncomfortable questions that have to be faced," Klingbeil said in an interview with the German Press Agency.
These include the question of whether the state is functioning properly when it comes to both integrating migrants and returning people without the right to stay in Germany. "I believe this can be done without shouting. It can be done with good arguments."
Massive criticism of the migration policy
The federal government's migration policy has caused some displeasure on the left wing of the SPD, which was mainly sparked by a sentence from a "Spiegel" interview with the Chancellor: "We must finally deport those who have no right to stay in Germany on a large scale." The Jusos leadership had criticized this as a demand "straight out of the vocabulary of the right-wing mob". At the federal congress of the SPD youth association, which represents almost a quarter of the members of the Bundestag, there had been massive criticism of the Ampel government's migration policy in November.
On Friday, the SPD will meet in Berlin for three days for its first party conference in two years. Klingbeil and Saskia Esken are standing for re-election as the party's dual leadership. The SPD also wants to adopt a programme for modernizing Germany, among other things.
Klingbeil said that the topic of migration would also be discussed at the party conference. "I am quite sure that the Social Democrats will set out a path that shows that both are possible: humanity and order." A lot is currently being changed in migration policy in order to make Germany an attractive country for skilled workers. On the other hand, migration needs to be managed more closely. "We are cracking down on criminal smugglers and speeding up repatriation procedures. We allow refugees who have prospects of staying here to enter the labor market more quickly because work is an important key to integration. It all belongs together."
Klingbeil warns
It is clear to him that the SPD stands for a "migration policy free of resentment", Klingbeil emphasized. "And there will be a large majority for this course at the federal party conference." Regarding the Chancellor's statement in "Der Spiegel", he simply said: "The SPD's migration policy does not fit completely on the cover of a news magazine. The Chancellor said much, much more than this one sentence that was printed on the cover of Der Spiegel." He stands behind this interview with the Chancellor.
At the same time, the SPD leader warned against seeing migration as a threat to society. "I think that's wrong. Everywhere I go, especially in companies, we see the glaring problem of the shortage of skilled workers." Ultimately, this problem will not be solved without immigration.
"And if we don't create a culture in which people we urgently need are happy to come to Germany, then it won't remain a strong country." The legal foundations are now in place. "But the social climate and the welcoming culture are still a long way off."
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Source: www.stern.de
