Germany: Merz meets resistance with risky border gambit

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Monday announced his intention to propose legislation on Wednesday to bring back permanent controls at Germany's borders with more police presence. 

Merz, who many expect to be elected chancellor in early federal elections on February 23, said he would pass the bill even if it meant doing so with help from the far-right, anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD).  

Many fear Merz's brinksmanship could erode the so-called firewall keeping established parties from working with AfD, portions of which are under surveillance from German intelligence services for anti-democratic activities.

Merz on Monday sought to deflect blame and shift responsibility ahead of the vote, claiming that it would be the fault of the center-left Social Democrats and Greens if the bill had to be passed with the help of AfD.

"Neither the SPD nor the Greens, and certainly not the AfD are going to tell us what draft laws we bring before parliament," he told a news conference at CDU headquarters.

"It's up to the SPD and the Greens and the liberals to prevent majorities that none of us want."

Merz claims rejected asylum applicants are a high risk

Merz has accused the Olaf Scholz government, as well as that of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, of having been soft on immigration

He justified his policy proposal by pointing to a deadly knife attack carried out last week by an Afghan male whose had yet to be deported despite having had his asylum application rejected. 

The last deportation flight from Germany to Afghanistan, he pointed out, took place five months ago.

"There are 40,000 asylum applicants who need to be deported," Merz told reporters. "A local politician told me this weekend that there are ticking time bombs walking around our towns and communities."

Immediate pushback from German politicians, EU neighbors

Merz's plan to introduce permanent controls at Germany's exterior borders to asylum seekers is a direct rejection of the European policies of the Schengen Agreement, which does away with checks at internal EU borders.

Although there are mechanisms for EU member states to temporarily pursue policies differing from their neighbors on immigration and even measures that allow serious changes, such as suspending the right to asylum according to Article 72 of the EU Treaty, such dramatic shifts would likely have to be settled at the European Court of Justice.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party called the proposal a betrayal of EU partners.

"If we start doing this, Europe breaks down. Not only is it anti-European, it is impossible to implement," she told reporters in Brussels.

Germany's neighbor Austria, in any case, was not enthusiastic in greeting Merz's proposal. 

Acting Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg of the center-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) said that although he welcomed the fact that Berlin was reconsidering migration policy it must nevertheless stick to Schengen rules.

Schallenberg also pointed to practical difficulties that would have to be tackled with such policies, for instance, that of determining where an individual first entered the EU before they could be sent back.

Merz's plan would have German border guards simply deny entry to migrants trying to enter from other Schengen nations to gain asylum.

Police warn Merz's plan would require thousands more officers

Andreas Rosskopf, head of the German Police Union GdP, said Merz's plan would mean that thousands of new officers would have to be hired and trained.

Rosskopf said roughly 1,000 riot police are regularly deployed to Germany's borders under current policy but added that what Merz is calling for would require far more.

"We would certainly need 8,000 to 10,000 additional officers to comprehensively control the border," said Rosskopf on Monday.

He also noted that Germany lacked much of the modern technology needed to truly control the country's borders, such as surveillance drones and license plate scanners.

Merz shifting further right as election approaches

Merz's proposal is likely to find popular support as the issue of irregular migration has seen increased attention across broad swaths of German society, especially in light of a number of recent attacks carried out by migrants or residents with migrant backgrounds.

The question is whether he can find support in the Bundestag, and if so, from whom.

With Merz at the helm, the CDU has shifted away from the approach it took during the Merkel years, becoming more hardline on the issue of migration.

Although he may be seeking to skim support from the anti-immigrant AfD with his pivot, it remains to be seen whether he can garner enough support from establishment parties to push through legislation, as well as if he will ignore the widely accepted firewall and close ranks with AfD.

Currently, the CDU leads election polling at 31%, with the AfD solidly in second at 20%, the SPD at 15%, and the Greens at 14%.

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js/wmr (dpa, Reuters)