Wagenknecht deplores cases of benefit abuse among Ukrainians
Former Left Party politician Sarah Wagenknecht deplores cases of abuse of social benefits by Ukrainian war refugees. "If Ukrainians go back to their home country, live there in fact, and only come here to receive the benefit, then there are big question marks," Wagenknecht told the broadcasters RTL/Ntv.
"I know of specific cases. In my home town, entire houses were rented for Ukrainian refugees and the neighbors were surprised that there was no one there," she said. But she doesn't want to "generalize".
The complaint about "social tourism" by Ukrainians was raised by CDU leader Friedrich Merz around a year ago. He later qualified that these were only isolated cases. Germany has taken in around one million people from the country attacked by Russia, who can receive basic benefits if they are permanently present and can be reached by their job center in Germany.
Wagenknecht left the Left Party in October and is preparing to found her own party, with which she intends to run in the 2024 European elections. In the television interview, she also argued - similarly to the CDU/CSU - in favor of further reducing benefits for rejected asylum seekers: "Those who are not entitled to asylum should only receive very minimal benefits." It is not the poorest of the poor who come to Germany, because "they can't pay people smugglers", Wagenknecht said. Germany must send a signal to the world: "We can no longer cope."
- Sahra Wagenknecht, now preparing to found her own party, echoed Friedreich Merz's concern about potential "social tourism" by some Ukrainian refugees, mentioning specific instances of abandoned houses rented for refugees in her hometown.
- Controversial topics like migration and social benefits have come under scrutiny, with issues like benefit abuse by certain refugees sparking heated debates, as recently highlighted by Sahra Wagenknecht and Friedrich Merz.
- Amidst the ongoing migration crisis, party politics and social affairs have intertwined, as seen in Sahra Wagenknecht's criticism of potential benefit abuse by refugees, while she simultaneously discusses reducing benefits for rejected asylum seekers.
- Refugee migration, benefit abuse, and social tourism are becoming increasingly interconnected issues in Germany's party politics, with key figures like Sahra Wagenknecht and Friedrich Merz at the forefront of these discussions.
Source: www.dpa.com
