In a recent interview, CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann expressed skepticism about the latest proposal by the FDP for a “Middle Ground Migration Pact”. The FDP’s plan aims to combine the law on the Common European Asylum System (GEAS) with the points from the so-called “Influx Limitation Act”. Linnemann believes, however, that this attempt will likely fail, citing the lack of a majority in the previous attempt and the limited time left for parliamentary solutions.
The FDP could have supported the CDU’s asylum law proposal last week, Linnemann noted, as the FDP had initially supported the same measures. Linnemann accused the FDP of engaging in election tactics by now proposing a “Middle Ground Migration Pact”, as the parties have only one more sitting day left before the Bundestag election.
Linnemann also dismissed the 10-point plan on migration proposed by the Green Party’s Robert Habeck, calling it “amusing” that all parties are now presenting new proposals after having previously ignored the CDU’s suggestions. Linnemann believes that the parties should have worked together on the issue instead of pushing the CDU to the right.
Meanwhile, FDP Fraktionschef Christian Dürr called on the CDU, SPD and Greens to end the dispute over migration policy and work together to bring order to the issue. Dürr urged the parties to put aside their differences and adopt the measures that the majority of the population wants.
FDP General Secretary Marco Buschmann, a former federal justice minister, reinforced the pressure, saying that the other parties now have the opportunity to show whether they will continue to polarize the issue for election purposes or work towards solving the problem like democrats. The FDP, according to Buschmann, is showing the way of political moderation and now it is up to the majority to decide whether to follow it.