Marc Tenbieg, the managing board chairman of the German Mittelstands-Bund (DMB), accuses CDU candidate Friedrich Merz of “populist rhetoric”. According to Tenbieg, the proposal by the CDU politician to deport double citizens who have committed crimes “contains no economic benefits” in the eyes of the association, as told to the “Spiegel”. Moreover, it is “not only legally, but also in the sense of a united Europe, more than questionable”.
Such an initiative carries the “risk of spreading uncertainty among people with dual citizenship – both among entrepreneurs as well as in the labor market and in society as a whole”. The Mittelstand, on the other hand, relies on a global and reliable social environment, Tenbieg said. “Instead of fueling resentments, a factual discussion is needed, one that strengthens social cohesion and economic stability.