The Political Fussball

AKK Reconciles with the Refugee Crisis

In this episode, we look at the background and outcomes of the recent workshops held by the CDU, initiated by newly elected party head Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to reckon with the turbulence of Angela Merkel's refugee policies. Fact Check: -Konrad Adenauer was elected to 4 terms as Chancellor (1949, 1953, 1957, 1961). He stepped down on October 15, 1963. He served almost exactly 14 years in office. -In September 2015, 59% of Germans responded that they were not afraid of refugees entering the country. In the same poll, 95% of Germans held a positive view of private citizens providing aid to refugees. Even among those who expressed fear at the wave of refugees, 94% said that taking in refugees of wars was correct. https://www.infratest-dimap.de/fileadmin/user_upload/dt1509_bericht.pdf -In March 2016, 59% percent of Germans said they were dissatisfied with Merkel’s asylum and refugee policies. In the same poll, 60% of respondents linked their concerns about the refugees with rising criminality, while 57% cited increased competition in the residential rental market. 50% of Germans expressed fear about an increase in the influence of Islam. However, only 27% cited a fear of competition in the job market as a concern with refugee policy. https://www.infratest-dimap.de/fileadmin/user_upload/dt1603_bericht.pdf -By the summer of 2016, only 28% of Germans without an immigrant background supported Willkommenskultur. Two years earlier, that figure was 36%. By the summer of 2016, 43% of Germans reported that they were pleased if immigrants felt “at home” in Germany. That figure for 2013/2014 was 55%. https://www.domradio.de/themen/kirche-und-politik/2016-07-07/deutschland-wachsen-vorbehalte-der-bevoelkerung http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/horst-seehofer-beendet-willkommenskultur-kommentar-a-1091845.html -Over 1.1 million asylum seekers registered in Germany in 2015 and 2016. https://www.dw.com/en/refugee-numbers-in-germany-dropped-dramatically-in-2017/a-42162223 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/horst-seehofer-beendet-willkommenskultur-kommentar-a-1091845.html -U.S population: around 328 million https://www.census.gov/popclock/ -Germany population: around 82 million http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/germany-population/ -AfD polling: National: 13% as of 14.2.2019 Sachsen: 25% as of 12.12.2018 Thüringen: 22% as of 9.11.2018 Sachsen Anhalt: 21% as of 28.8.2018 https://dawum.de/AfD/ -The only other time there’s been an election to elect the head of the CDU was in 1971, when Rainer Barzel and future Chancellor Helmut Kohl vied for the seat. http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/wahl-zum-cdu-vorsitz-was-man-jetzt-wissen-muss-a-1242069.html -Friedrich Merz was head of the CDU parliamentary faction from 2000 to 2002. He was then the deputy head of the faction (Merkel replaced him as head in 2002) until he resigned in 2004. https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article182903820/Friedrich-Merz-Nach-14-Jahren-meldet-er-sich-wieder-zurueck.html -There were 8 CDU regional conferences between Nov. 15 - 30. https://www.cdu.de/artikel/termine-der-reginalkonferenzen -The results of the runoff vote in the election of the new CDU head at the convention in Hamburg on Dec. 7: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer: 517 votes (52 percent) Friedrich Merz: 482 votes (48 percent) https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2018-12/cdu-parteitag-vorsitz-liveblog