German CDU Union Vice Leader Jens Spahn Criticizes Syrian Doctors in Migration Debate
Jens Spahn, the vice leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has criticized the reference to Syrian doctors practicing in Germany in the country’s migration debate. In an interview with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit, Spahn said, “I can no longer hear this argument.” He argued that Germany already has almost a million Syrians in the country and that the 6,000 Syrian doctors would be needed to care for them, rather than addressing the country’s shortage of medical professionals.
The Syrian doctors are often cited by politicians from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens as an example of how migration can alleviate the shortage of skilled workers in Germany. Spahn, however, disagrees with this argument.
“We’ve been absorbing a large city every year for the past ten years. That’s too much. There’s no more acceptance for that. People with a migration background also tell me that” Spahn said. He described the mixture of a shrinking economy, distribution conflicts and disorganized migration as “highly combustible.