Christian Democratic interior ministers are calling for more security as
well as changes to integration policy. It's only a coincidence that
their paper is coming out during the election campaign, they say.
They called for 15,000 more police, more video surveillance and more tools to counter cyber crime. They also want to
ban the Islamic burqa and niqab in certain circumstances, namely in court, cars and public service.
The room is really too small. Journalists and camera teams are crammed
next to each other and whispers of frustration pass occasionally back
and forth. Taking up even more space than the media and the three
ministers they are there to see, however, are the two elephants in the
room.
No burqas in public service
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere and his state-level
counterparts from the Christian Democrats (CDU) convened in Berlin to
talk security and integration. Three from the group - de Maiziere,
Lorenz Caffier from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Frank Henkel from
Berlin - presented a "
Berlin Declaration" from a hotel conference room.
"Showing your face is an act of communication," de Maiziere said. Henkel
said he wants "our country to be recognizable." An outright ban on the
Islamic facial veil is not called for in their paper, despite it having
been discussed by some of their CDU colleagues. "We are against the
burqa," the interior minister said, but it should only be banned "where
it's necessary that the face be visible."
The debate over dual citizenship also failed to result in unanimity
among the ministers. "Preventing dual citizenship must be adhered to in
principle," Henkel said. But there are exceptions to this principle,
which the ministers will take up in 2018 or 2019. This most of all
affects those born in Germany to non-German parents. As of two years
ago, these people are now allowed to hold both passports. Dual citizens
who join terrorist groups should have their German citizenship revoked,
the ministers said.
Connection to campaign 'nonsense'
Caffier was the group's spokesman. Henkel served as host. Both are in
campaign mode. Any connection, however, between the current discussion
of the burqa ban and the looming electoral threat posed by the
right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, is "complete nonsense,"
Henkel said. In Caffer's state the AfD is polling at 20 percent. He
called the charge "foolish."
The ministers' secondary interest pertains to internal party
politics. De Maiziere twice suggested the "CDU and CSU have the same
position" on these matters. In the last year, the CDU's more
conservative sister party in Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU),
has pulled further away from the CDU on matters of integration and
security, urging Chancellor Angela Merkel to reverse her more open
stance towards refugees.
Bavaria's Premier Horst Seehofer (CSU) capitalized on the decisions made
by his Interior Minister, Joachim Herrmann. "His course towards greater
security sets an example for Germany," Seehofer said.
'Declaration of distrust against the majority of dual citizens'
The CDU's coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), praised the
plan for more police, but strongly criticized the integration policies.
The debate over dual citizenship is a "declaration of distrust against
the vast majority of dual citizens who stand firmly behind Germany's
Basic Law," said Federal Justice Minister Heiko Maas (SPD). Thomas
Oppermann, parliamentary group head of the SPD, called Henkel and
Caffier "irresponsible campaigners." Bans on the burqa and dual
citizenship have nothing to do with security, he said.
Bernd Riexinger, head of the post-communist Left party, called the paper
"saber rattling and cheap campaign talk," but was pleased the ministers
had at least "removed the most absurd parts" relative to what had been
discussed in the last days.