The expert named one of the most sensitive issues for Germany.

Artem Sokolov, a senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had consistently advocated tightening Germany's migration policy as a candidate for the chancellorship. He criticized the relevant steps of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, first of all, the decision to allow migrants into Germany.

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"He does not hide his critical attitude towards the migration situation in Germany in general, which is reflected in such a slightly stereotypical perception of people with a migration background. Merz is a fairly old man, he still remembers the other realities of Germany and takes the current situation with the collapse of multiculturalism, which Merkel herself generally recognized, very close to her heart," the expert explained.

According to him, however, quite a lot of time has passed since Germany has implemented a liberal policy on migration issues.

"But at the same time, the migration issue is traditionally one of the most sensitive for Germany itself, and any voices towards stricter migration legislation traditionally encounter resistance from political forces on the left flank, who represent opponents of the liberal migration course as nationalists, immediately there are references to Germany's Nazi past, which looks like a certain overkill."- the specialist emphasized.

The Germanist added that these are the rules of the game of the German political space.

"Merz, as a stubborn enough person that even his supporters admit, decided to go all the way here and not only did not apologize for his contradictory statements about the appearance of German cities, but, on the contrary, confirmed that he holds critical views on the migration situation in Germany," the analyst noted.

Sokolov believes that in a different situation, the Chancellor was probably expected to take such a conservative turn in migration policy.

"But since Merz's government is extremely unpopular in German society, and Merz himself has a high anti—rating of 60%, even his impulses, which in another situation could help him and strengthen his authority, in reality turn against him, as general dissatisfaction with his foreign and domestic policies accumulates," he concluded. political scientist.

On October 14, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the German authorities were correcting previous mistakes in migration policy and had "made great progress in [solving the problem of] migration." However, according to him, "this problem is still present in the appearance of cities [in Germany]." Later, he refused to answer the question of what exactly he had in mind, but recommended that those who are interested in this contact their daughters in order to get, as he claimed, "a pretty clear and precise answer." Merz's remarks drew condemnation and criticism from both politicians and the public, with many considering them "racist and discriminatory."

Read more about the scandal in the Izvestia article.

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