Speaking in Berlin, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said citizenship cannot be limited by a person’s birthplace or family background and called for equal rights for everyone.
Steinmeier said Germany’s constitution grants the same rights to all citizens. He emphasized that people who acquire German citizenship later in life are also equal to those who are German citizens by birth.
Steinmeier said belonging to Germany is built on a shared language, the willingness to live together peacefully in freedom and commitment to the constitution. He added that everyone who lives and works lawfully, receives an education and contributes to society belongs in Germany.
The German president defended solidarity over an exclusionary, ethnically based understanding of society. Steinmeier called on everyone to uphold the principle of equal citizenship.
Weidel calls for all Syrians to be sent back
Steinmeier did not mention the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in his speech. However, his remarks were viewed as criticism of the party’s “remigration” agenda, which calls for migrants to be sent back to their countries of origin.
AfD Co-Chair Alice Weidel said in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF on Sunday that all Syrians would be sent back to Syria if her party came to power. Weidel argued that the civil war in Syria had ended and said Syrians would be sent back once the grounds for their asylum had ceased to exist.
Weidel said Germany is home to 1.3 million Syrians and that many had received citizenship, questioning why Syrians had been granted German citizenship.
AfD focuses on migration ahead of regional elections
With regional elections due to take place in three states next month, the AfD has made migration policy one of the central themes of its campaign. The party accuses Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative coalition government of failing to prevent irregular migration and considers the government’s measures slow, insufficient and ineffective.
Polls show the AfD receiving between 36 and 43 percent support in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It remains unclear whether the party can secure an outright majority in either state. The distribution of seats may depend on whether smaller parties clear the 5 percent electoral threshold.
In the capital Berlin, the AfD is expected to come second with around 18 percent of the vote.
