Friedrich Merz, the leader of the CDU party in Germany, sparked controversy in recent weeks when he sought the help of the AfD, a far-right party, in attempts to push tough new migration laws through parliament.
Migration has become a key election issue in Germany following a series of attacks. Last week an asylum seeker injured up to 30 bystanders in a suspected car-ramming incident in Munich. Merz has responded by taking an even more hardline stance on migration. According to polls, he is well positioned to be Germany’s next chancellor after the election on February 23rd.
Indeed, migration is poised to remain a key election issue across the EU. The uncertain future of USAID following Donald Trump’s decision to suspend indefinitely the $68 billion in annual spending on relief projects, mainly in developing countries, may well increase migration flows further in the years ahead.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former prime minister of Denmark, is a prominent figure in the Social Democrat family of political parties across the EU. In a recent interview, she said parties from the Social Democrat tradition must speak openly and honestly about migration.
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This analysis is right. Unless the EU’s middle ground parties take control of the narrative on migration, the political centre will come under further pressure. That does not mean lurching to the right to wrong-foot the growing number of populist insurgents, but instead showing that a managed approach is the best option.
The EU Migration Pact is the first coordinated attempt by member states to deal with record flows of asylum seekers and migrants seeking to enter its borders. The pact is imperfect, but it is a significant improvement on each member state going it alone, which caused such divisions when the 2015 migration crisis erupted.
The economic challenges facing the EU are formidable, including declining populations in many big member states. The EU needs migration. Politicians of the centre need to persuade the electorates that a fair and efficient system can emerge.
