Results 1 to 2 of 2
Like Tree1Likes

Thread: Angela Merkel: German multiculturalism has 'utterly failed'

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    1,164

    Angela Merkel: German multiculturalism has 'utterly failed'

    Angela Merkel: German multiculturalism has 'utterly failed'


    This article is more than8 years old




    Chancellor's assertion that onus is on new arrivals to do more to integrate into German society stirs anti-immigration debate


    Matthew Weaver and agencies
    Sun 17 Oct 2010 06.58 EDTFirst published on Sun 17 Oct 201006.58 EDT





    Shares

    2,719







    German chancellor Angela Merkel addresses young members of Christian Democratic Union party. Photograph: Bernd Settnik/AFP/Getty Images[COLOR=#121212][FONT=Guardian Text Egyptian Web]The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has courted growing anti-immigrant opinion in Germany by claiming the country's attempts to create a multicultural society have "utterly failed".
    Speaking to a meeting of young members of her Christian Democratic Union party, Merkel said the idea of people from different cultural backgrounds living happily "side by side" did not work.
    She said the onus was on immigrants to do more to integrate into German society.
    "This [multicultural] approach has failed, utterly failed," Merkel told the meeting in Potsdam, west of Berlin, yesterday.
    Her remarks will stir a debate about immigration in a country which is home to around 4 million Muslims.
    Last week, Horst Seehofer, the premier of Bavaria and a member of the Christian Social Union – part of Merkel's ruling coalition – called for a halt to Turkish and Arabic immigration.
    In the past, Merkel has tried to straddle both sides of the argument by talking tough on integration but also calling for an acceptance of mosques.
    But she faces pressure from within the CDU to take a harder line on immigrants who show resistance to being integrated into German society.
    Yesterday's speech is widely seen as a lurch to the right designed to placate that element in her party.
    Merkel said too little had been required of immigrants in the past and repeated her argument that they should learn German in order to cope in school and take advantage of opportunities in the labour market.
    The row over foreigners in Germany has shifted since former central bankerThilo Sarrazin published a highly-controversial book in which he accused Muslim immigrants of lowering the intelligence of German society.
    Sarrazin was censured for his views and dismissed from the Bundesbank, but his book proved popular and polls showed Germans were sympathetic with the thrust of his arguments.
    One recent poll showed
    Last edited by tonyklo; 06-16-2019 at 11:34 PM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    1,164
    German politician inflames immigration debate


    This article is more than8 years old




    Horst Seehofer calls for halt to immigration for Turks and Arabs, claiming they find it hard to integrate


    Kate Connolly, Berlin
    Mon 11 Oct 2010 17.51 EDTFirst published on Mon 11 Oct 201017.51 EDT





    Shares

    5







    Horst Seehofer has refused to apologise for saying Germany should not accept any more Turkish or Arab migrants. Photograph: Andreas Gebert/EPAA leading German politician has stoked a debate about foreigners and the workplace after calling for a halt to immigration for Turks and Arabs, citing the difficulties they have in integrating.
    Horst Seehofer, premier of the conservative southern German state of Bavaria, stressed the urgent need to stem the flow of immigrants from Arab lands, and focus instead on cultures more similar to Germany's.
    Seehofer, a member of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, told a German magazine it was time for the country to look elsewhere for qualified workers at a time when many parts of the labour market are facing grave shortfalls.
    "It's clear that immigrants from other cultural circles like Turkey, and Arab countries have more difficulties. From that I draw the conclusion that we don't need any additional foreign workers from other cultures," he said.
    He added that Germany should first "deal with the people who already live here" and "get tougher on those who refuse to integrate" before opening itself up to further immigration.
    His comments were made at a time when Germany is caught up in a wide-ranging and heated debate over the integration of its estimated four million Muslims, which has spanned everything from education to the legal system.
    Seehofer was accused of deliberately timing his remarks to coincide with a visit to Germany of Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the weekend.
    Both Erdogan and Chancellor Angela Merkel chose to stress the importance of integration for the two million people of Turkish descent living in Germany by together attending a football match between the German and Turkish national teams at which Erdogan wore a scarf combining both nations' flags. The game was overshadowed by the whistles of disapproval delivered by Turkey supporters towards midfielder Mesut Özil, who is of Turkish descent, whenever he had the ball.
    Both Merkel and the German president Christian Wulff – who last week called on Germans to recognise that Islam is a part of Germany – have been trying to calm a debate sparked by a former Bundesbank board member. In August Thilo Sarrazin published an incendiary book in which he claimed Germany was facing collapse due to the growing number of under-educated Muslims who were increasingly resistant to being integrated into German society. He said members of the Turkish and Arab community were making Germany "more stupid". Prior to that he remarked that most of Berlin's Arab and Turkish immigrants had no useful function "except for the trading of fruit and vegetables".

    Sarrazin's sentiments, which led to comparisons between him and the Dutch far-right populist Geert Wilders, found considerable support in mainstream German society. Sarrazin has since resigned from the bank after proceedings started to have him removed.
    Seehofer's remarks have thrown yet more oil on to the fire. The government official responsible for integration, Maria Böhmer, said she was shocked by Seehofer's remarks and accused him of putting "people from another culture under blanket suspicion". She called his comments "alienating" and "counterproductive".
    Kenan Kolat, chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany called on Seehofer to apologise, describing his comments as "defamatory and unacceptable" and accusing him of trying to "trump" Sarrazin.
    Green party co-chair Claudia Roth accused Seehofer of "arsonist-style rightwing populism".

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...horst-seehofer

Similar Threads

  1. Angela Merkel Succession Calls for Right to Asylum BE REMOVED from German Constitutio
    By Beezer in forum illegal immigration News Stories & Reports
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 11-23-2018, 04:50 PM
  2. German Election Says Angela Merkel Must Go | The Still Report
    By Airbornesapper07 in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 10-15-2018, 08:10 AM
  3. Angela Merkel faces possible defeat in German regional poll
    By European Knight in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-04-2016, 09:29 AM
  4. German protesters prepare for Angela 'Merkel Must Go' demonstration
    By European Knight in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-31-2016, 10:56 AM
  5. Merkel says German multicultural society has failed
    By patbrunz in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 11-16-2010, 09:55 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •