Parties - Schnieder praises CDU basic principles: "No bans on thinking"
According to Rhineland-Palatinate parliamentary group leader Gordon Schnieder, the draft of the CDU's new basic program has been well received by the state party. "I have rarely received so many positive messages in such a short space of time," said Schnieder, who is also the party's Secretary General, in an interview with the German Press Agency in Mainz.
In addition to statements on a more restrictive migration policy, the federal party's draft also contains a commitment to the German "Leitkultur", to nuclear power as an option and to reforms in pension and labor market policy.
Schnieder rejected criticism of the statements on asylum law. "We are proposing concrete solutions to asylum and refugee policy - we want to bring humanity and order back into harmony," emphasized the 48-year-old from the Vulkaneifel region. "People are unsettled, we are experiencing a new migration crisis. That's why we are making a proposal on how to effectively limit illegal migration, for example."
"If I have 300,000 people who are required to leave the country and we previously had a repatriation rate of 12,000 per year, now it's 12,600, then we need 30 years - and new migrants are arriving every day," criticized Schnieder. "Once someone has set foot on German soil, there are massive difficulties in returning them to their home country." It is up to the "traffic light" federal government to "finally remove the hurdles to repatriation".
It must be possible to talk about "how this can be achieved without a ban on thinking", demanded Schnieder. This applies "regardless of what third parties say on this topic", said the parliamentary group leader in response to the accusation that the regulations in the draft were close to AfD positions. "We now need honest and sustainable solutions."
According to the CDU concept of safe third countries presented to the party's top committees in Berlin last Monday, "everyone who applies for asylum in Europe should be transferred to a safe third country and undergo a procedure there. In the event of a positive outcome, the safe third country will grant the applicant protection on the spot."
Schnieder said: "Do what is feasible from a legal perspective." Germany could then "take care of those who are really politically persecuted".
The CDU parliamentary group leader also defended the commitment to the "Leitkultur" in the draft. "That is exactly the right term. Anyone who wants to find a home in Germany must be prepared to integrate in line with our guiding culture," said Schnieder.
"We need an objective discussion and an honest debate and must not allow ourselves to be restricted by language," emphasized Schnieder. "I make policy for the middle class." Many of these people have fears and concerns. "I must be able to address these honestly and also name them."
The first draft of the new basic program was completed last week by the party's program commission. The new platform is to be officially adopted by the Executive Board at a closed meeting on January 12 and 13 in Heidelberg. The draft will then be discussed with the members and then adopted by the 1001 delegates at the party conference in May.
The CDU initiated the process for a new basic program after losing power in the 2021 federal elections. The current basic program dates back to 2007.
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Source: www.stern.de
