"We're making fools of ourselves for the whole world"
On the ARD talk show Maischberger, two politicians who couldn't be more different argue about the Ampel's migration policy. The guests are Ricarda Lang, leader of the Greens, and Hubert Aiwanger, leader of the Free Voters.
It is a heated discussion that evening between the co-chair of the Greens, Ricarda Lang, and the leader of the Free Voters, Hubert Aiwanger, who is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs in Bavaria. Aiwanger has not been without controversy since an anti-Semitic inflammatory leaflet came to light at the beginning of September, which the current minister carried around with him in his knapsack as a schoolboy. Naturally, the leaflet and Aiwanger's handling of it came up between the two politicians.
"First of all, I'm surprised that things are being brought up again and again about what happened almost forty years ago," says Aiwanger. He had been the victim of a smear campaign, "and the citizens judged it with a top election result." In his home region, there were results of 60 percent and more, says Aiwanger. The fact is that the Free Voters won 15.8 percent of the vote in the Bavarian state elections in October, an increase of around three percent. The party is in second place behind the CSU. In his constituency of Landshut, Aiwanger clearly won the direct mandate with 37.2 percent. However, the Free Voters did not win the most second votes in Aiwanger's constituency in Lower Bavaria, but in Kaufbeuren in Swabia, a good 150 kilometers away from Landshut.
Alcopops versus hate speech
Aiwanger is delighted with his party's election result, and he has every reason to be. The leaflet affair has certainly not damaged the Minister of Economic Affairs. Aiwanger knows that too: "The voters saw it as a mess to confront someone almost forty years later with things that for the most part weren't even true." He had apologized and, incidentally, you make a lot of mistakes as a young person. Ricarda Lang from the Green Party also admits this. For example, she had drunk too much alcopops in her youth. But an anti-Semitic hate newspaper is something completely different.
"I wasn't an anti-Semite, and I'm not one either," explains Aiwanger. And: Those who sit in glass houses should not throw stones, like the journalists of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", who ultimately distributed the flyer in question millions of times. And he reproaches Lang: "Think of Claudia Roth and so on, the anti-Semitic incidents of Greens who were of age and then made clearly anti-Semitic statements. You wipe that away again." Lang replies: "I don't know which incident you're referring to."
There is aggressive anti-Semitism in Germany, says Aiwanger. According to Aiwanger, this is the fault of migrants who were brought into the country by the Greens in particular. Lang rejects this accusation: "We are fighting against all forms of anti-Semitism, regardless of where it comes from," says the politician. Aiwanger agrees with her. Nevertheless, the leader of the Free Voters denounces Islamists in particular who call for the destruction of Israel on the streets. "This is nonsense that we have brought into the country," he says. "If you see that the demonstrations are overwhelming the police, if you see that they are ultimately directed against Israel, then I would ban them. And I would also end up deporting people who act aggressively there if they don't have a German passport," says Aiwanger.
Lang rejects this demand. The Green politician says that the demonstrators are often people who are the third or fourth generation to live in Germany. Her recipe: "Tougher domestic policy, enforcing bans on associations on the one hand, but also integration."
Aiwanger and migration
Both politicians are aware that the high number of refugees is a problem in Germany. According to Lang, the federal government will provide significantly more support to local authorities in solving the problems, especially financially. However, she is against examining asylum applications in third countries. This would be in breach of the Geneva Convention on Refugees, she says.
Aiwanger criticizes the coalition government for doing too little to deport violent migrants. In addition, the state must regain control of the borders. "When we already see that we are getting people into the country who have thrown away their passports and don't even admit where they come from!" Aiwanger would no longer allow these people to enter the country. Instead, their identity must be established locally and if this is not possible, they should be sent back to Poland or Austria. You can't let people into the country and only then discuss what status they have. "We are making fools of ourselves for the whole world," said Aiwanger.
Lang's question as to whether Aiwanger is in favor of Germany withdrawing from the Geneva Convention on Refugees is one he is unwilling to answer specifically. However, he is of the opinion that Germany is interpreting this convention incorrectly.
- During the spirited debate, Aiwanger defends his party's election results, stating, "We were not made fools of by the leaflet incident, and the voters saw it as a mess to confront someone almost forty years later with things that weren't even true."
- Later in the talk, Aiwanger addresses migration, saying, "We are making fools of ourselves for the whole world when we allow people into the country without first establishing their identity, only to then discuss their status."
- Despite their differing views, Aiwanger and Lang continue to engage in a respectful dialogue on migration policies, each presenting their arguments to the host and the viewing audience.
Source: www.ntv.de
