CDU accuses the Chancellery of downplaying the migration crisis.
The occasion is the contributions of government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit and Chancellery Minister Wolfgang Schmidt on X/Twitter, in which the decline of asylum applications in 2024 is being touted as a success.
Thorsten Frei, parliamentary business manager of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told the “Bild” (Monday’s edition): “The federal government should stop downplaying the migration crisis and finally tackle the problem at its root. This kind of number trickery is met with a lack of understanding in the population and strengthens the radical parties.”
“Facts are: Alone in 2024, it is to be expected that around 250,000 asylum applications will be submitted. Moreover, Germany has taken in a very high number of refugees from Ukraine again last year. This kind of asylum influx overloads our country and is no reason for any ‘success reports’.”
According to the Chancellery, there were 213,499 asylum applications in Germany last year. This represents a decline of 34 or 15 percent compared to 2023 and 2022. Compared to the last five years of the previous government, however, the numbers are high. Under Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany recorded 790,557 asylum applications (2022-2024). In the five years before Scholz’s taking office (2017-2021), there were a total of 769,565 asylum applications. This is evident from the numbers of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.