BERLIN — Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor of Germany, has pledged sweeping changes to the country’s migration policies as soon as he enters office.
The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader cited Wednesday’s fatal knife attack, allegedly carried out by a 28-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker in the southern city of Aschaffenburg, as evidence of what he calls a “failed” immigration system.
Merz is leading in polls ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 election, as he runs on a platform of emphasizing stricter migration as well as law and order policies.
“On the first day of my tenure as chancellor, I will instruct the interior ministry to impose permanent border controls with all our neighbors and refuse all attempts at illegal entry,” Merz said in a speech Thursday. He promised an “effective entry ban” for individuals lacking valid travel documents, including those seeking asylum.
Facing mounting political pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has linked rising crime to migration in its campaign rhetoric, Merz’s hard-line stance on immigration reflects a bid to draw support away from the AfD and solidify his conservative base as the election nears.
Merz highlighted systemic issues with the EU’s migration framework, criticizing the Dublin and Schengen agreements ― the bloc’s rules on asylum, and its passport-free travel ― area as “dysfunctional.” Under his leadership, he vowed that Germany would assert the primacy of national law in controlling migration.
Merz characterized the Aschaffenburg attack as part of a broader pattern of violence. “The limit has been reached,” he said, referring to Germany’s capacity for taking in migrants. “We face the debris of a misguided asylum and immigration policy over the last decade.”
In addition to tighter border controls, Merz proposed empowering federal police to issue arrest warrants and holding deportable individuals in custody until their removal. “There will be fundamental changes to the laws governing entry, asylum, and residence in Germany,” he said.
Asked whether these measures signaled a rejection of potential coalition partners like the Greens, Merz dismissed the inquiry. “It is completely irrelevant who supports this path politically,” he said. “I will not compromise on these issues.”
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