Public backlash over migrant crime and the rise of the populist right has prompted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to adopt a tougher stance on immigration, despite his prior support for open-door policies.
Facing plummeting public approval and a surge in anti-mass migration sentiment, Scholz’s government has endorsed legislation allowing deportation for foreigners advocating violence on social media, following a fatal attack by an Afghan migrant at a mass migration rally that sparked widespread anger.
“It outrages me when someone who has found protection here commits the most serious of crimes,” Scholz claimed. “Such criminals should be deported, even if they come from Syria or Afghanistan.”
Crime statistics show a significant increase in offenses involving migrants, with foreigners comprising just 14.6 percent of Germany’s population but accounting for 58.5 percent of all violent crimes.
Scholz’s proposed deportation bill faces challenges, including constitutional issues and logistical hurdles in deporting individuals from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan that are deemed unsafe.
Scholz, under pressure to address migration concerns before next year’s federal elections, has attempted diplomatic agreements to facilitate deportations.
His change of course comes after a populist surge during last month’s European elections, as the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) beat Scholz’s Social Democrats and their coalition partners in the far-left Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats.
Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, remarked last month that the surge of support for populist parties was shifting the Overton Window on issues like mass migration.
In the same way the left shifted the Overton Window towards the climate change agenda, populists are shifting the Overton Window against mass migration, argues @RaheemKassam. pic.twitter.com/CsrZIfWPhA
— Jack Montgomery (@JackBMontgomery) June 10, 2024
