Manuel Hagel, the CDU’s state chairman in Baden-Württemberg, is advocating for a stop to the naturalization of Syrians in the wake of the Syrian regime’s collapse. He believes that a change in the citizenship law can make this possible, as he told the FAZ.
“The SPD-led government has ruined our citizenship law. This cannot be allowed to stand” Hagel said. The debate about halting the naturalization of Syrians is being led in the public sphere in an “incomplete” manner, with some claiming that a naturalization stop is legally impossible.
” Laws can be changed. If we recognize what we politically consider right, the next step is to enact the law” the CDU politician said, who is also the leader of the party’s parliamentary group and is likely to lead the CDU in the 2026 state election in Baden-Württemberg.
Hagel also expressed skepticism about whether Baden-Württemberg could take in more refugees in the event of an escalation of the war in Ukraine or the civil war in Syria.
Regarding the discussions about a possible reform of the debt brake, Hagel said: “We need a debt brake in Germany that is disciplined. That’s why it’s also in the CDU’s election program. It’s a brake on chaos, as it forces us politicians to not constantly finance wishes at the expense of future generations in times of tightening finances.”
A multi-debt increase in a limited scope could only be possible if a “honest expenditure and standard critique” had taken place beforehand.
Hagel also called for the abolition of the right of environmental associations to bring lawsuits in environmental and nature conservation matters and for the abandonment of the goal of reducing the land use to a “net zero” level.
In the field of science policy, Hagel demanded the fusion of the University of Heidelberg’s and Mannheim’s university clinics, rather than just establishing a closer cooperation through a planned network. “I would actually merge the Heidelberg and Mannheim clinics and not stop at the network, so that we can become a world leader in the fields of life science and cancer research” the CDU politician said.
Hagel praised the science and innovation policy of the Bavarian state government and the Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder (CSU): “The Technical University of Munich can be a role model for us, if it’s about moving forward even better and bridging the gap between state-funded science support and the needs of industry.