Latest news with #Weidel
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
AfD's Alice Weidel blasts Friedrich Merz over migrant issue: 'Islamisation progressing rapidly...'
In a general debate in the German Bundestag, the leader of the right-wing populist party AfD, Alice Weidel, sharply attacked Chancellor Friedrich Merz. In her speech, she also attacked the government on migration policy and spoke of "migration policy showcase exercises". She said that the border controls initiated were inadequate and the restrictions on family reunification were "homoeopathic". Weidel painted a bleak picture of the country and mentioned knife attacks, sexual offences, assaults in outdoor swimming pools and poor conditions in schools. "Islamization is progressing rapidly and aggressively," Weidel continued. Show more Show less
Local Germany
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
Fact-check: Are immigrants in Germany taking advantage of the welfare state?
What is the General Debate? Among the Bundestag's prominent traditions is the Generaldebatte (general debate)– an open debate held several times a year, and most notably during the budget process. Partly a showcase for the government's policies, the Generaldebatte is also meant to be an opportunity for opposition parties to hold the government to account. The July debate opened on Wednesday and was initially focussed primarily on the budget for 2025. Chancellor Merz of the conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) party said that his government's plans had initiated a turnaround in economic policy and laid the foundation for further investment. Merz stressed that substantial borrowing was necessary in order to invest in defence and major improvements to infrastructure in Germany. AfD opened the debate By convention, the leader of the largest opposition party is invited to open the debate, before handing over to the Chancellor. This meant that Alice Weidel of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was the first speaker on Wednesday. True to form, she wasted no time in turning to her favourite topic: immigration. To applause from her party members, she suggested that rapes and knife attacks committed by immigrants were an everyday part of life in Germany. According to reporting by Welt, Weidel took aim at Bürgergeld (citizens' allowance), and suggested that immigrants are taking "money that does not belong to them". Advertisement The AfD leader continued with a series of wild claims about how much money immigrants in Germany are collecting. Figures that she stated in her speech were "grossly wrong" according to a report by RTL/ntv . Co-leader of the far-right AfD party, Alice Weidel, gives a speech as Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (L) look on during the general debate on the German budget. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) The AfD has made Germany's Bürgergeld benefit, and its alleged use by immigrants, a particular focus recently. As we reported last week, the party inquired about the most common first names of Bürgergeld recipients only to find out that Michael, Andreas and Thomas took the top three spots. The Chancellor's response When it was his turn to speak, Chancellor Merz failed to meaningfully challenge Weidel's statements about the burden placed on Germany's welfare statement system by immigrants. Instead, he defended his government's policies on immigration, emphasizing the reduction in asylum applications and promising to reduce "irregular migration" further. In the end, it was Weidel who called Merz a "lying Chancellor" ( Lügenkanzler ), whereas Merz merely spoke about "half-truths, slander, and personal disparagement." Immigrants and welfare debate Merz's failure to correct the AfD leader illustrates an ongoing misrepresentation of the relative financial costs and benefits of migration in German politics and the media. READ ALSO: 'I've never felt welcome' - Why immigrants are leaving Germany This spring, a study by economist Bernd Raffelhüschen made headlines when Bild splashed its findings across its front page under the heading: 'Explosive migration study - this is how much migration really costs us.' The figure cited – €5.8 trillion – was seized on by politicians and commentators as proof that migration is an unsustainable burden. The study was taken wildly out of context, however, as Raffelhüschen himself acknowledged. German media largely failed to report, for example, that the generational accounting method used in his study also labelled new-born Germans as a 'loss-making business' for the welfare state. What's the real cost / benefit of migration? Other economists, whose studies are designed to make sense of the relative costs and benefits of immigration have come to very different conclusions. Martin Werding, a government economic advisor and professor at Ruhr University Bochum, subsequently produced a study in which he estimates that the German state will save around €100 billion per year between now and 2070 because of immigration. Advertisement Werding's findings are echoed in his 2025 report , which says, 'The contributions paid in exceed the benefits claimed…In the long term, immigration is indispensable for the viability of the welfare state.' An investigation carried out by the podcast Einwanderungsland also backs up these findings. Immigration is crucial to the viability of Germany's welfare state The bottom line, according to the best studies on the topic is as follows: Refugees and migrants who aren't immediately integrated into the workforce draw on social benefits in Germany, and cost the state an estimated €30 billion per year. Most migrants come to Germany to work or study, however, and around two-thirds of foreigners in Germany are employed. Also the longer immigrants stay in the country, the more likely they are to have a job. A woman clicks on an online application for Bürgergeld, Germany's long-term unemployment benefit. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Carsten Koall Even among refugees, two-thirds of those who arrived in 2015 are now employed. The fiscal picture improves rapidly as migrants enter the workforce. Highly qualified immigrants, such as engineers, generate substantial tax and social security revenue, and even less qualified workers provide a net benefit. READ ALSO: How generous is Germany's unemployment benefit system? Added to which, immigration is now the sole driver of employment growth in Germany. According to the Federal Employment Agency, the entire increase in jobs subject to social insurance contributions in 2024 was due to foreign workers. Sectors like tourism would collapse completely without them. Advertisement The debate around immigration in Germany will continue, and unfortunately as long as anti-immigration politics remain popular, the debate will likely remain largely misguided. Despite the impression given during today's Generaldebatte , however, the evidence increasingly points to an inescapable truth: the future viability of Germany's welfare state isn't being put at risk by immigrants. On the contrary, it depends on them.
Euronews
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Germany's AfD accuses Merz of election fraud as it vows image reform
The co-chair of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel, has again accused Chancellor Friedrich Merz of electoral fraud, without providing evidence. "They are continuing with the same left-green policies as before," Weidel said at a press conference after a closed-door party meeting at the weekend. The AfD parliamentary group is "twice as strong as the previous one," Weidel said, whose party currently has 151 seats in the current German parliament, the Bundestag, and is the second most popular party in the western European country. However, critics of the AfD argue that the party remains far from exerting any real influence, as none of the other parties in the Bundestag are willing to cooperate with it. This is not the first time Weidel has accused Merz of electoral fraud by reneging on campaign trail pledges. On 24 February, a day after the snap election, Weidel took to X warning of "Election fraud on the horizon." "On day one, Merz threw all his campaign promises overboard, refused to close the borders, and spoke with the Greens and SPD about reforming the debt brake. This is politics against the will of the voters!" she wrote. However, on the campaign trail, where immigration was a hot topic, Merz never promised to close the borders, stating only that he intended to "secure the German border". Weidel's claim that Merz had broken election promises, a post that has been viewed 1.7 million times, was accompanied by a video in which he discussed plans to tighten border controls. "I also want to make it very clear once again: none of us are talking about border closures. Nobody is. Although that was claimed at times during the election campaign, none of us want to close the borders," he said in the video. Image rehabilitation? The weekend AfD meeting also saw the party attempting to establish a new code of conduct in a bid to create a new image for itself, one that might make working with it more appealing to other parties in the Bundestag. In AfD's new position paper, the controversial word "remigration" — a far-right European term referring to mass deportations — does not appear once, although the party maintains its position is still tough on migration policy and tax cuts. "We are focussing very closely on the working population," Weidel told the national evening news programme, Tagesschau. Another focus is "Closing and controlling the borders," said Weidel. According to analysts, the AfD appears to be attempting to adopt a more moderate stance, with the goal of participating in government during the next legislative period. The softening of its image could also represent a new strategy for the AfD in response to a legal dispute over its categorisation as an extremist entity. In early May, Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) designated the AfD as a right-wing extremist organisation that poses a threat to democracy and the constitutional order. That designation could subject the party to broader surveillance and scrutiny of its activities. But days later the BfV said it would wait a court ruling before moving forward with plans to classify the party a "right-wing extremist" movement. However, opinions within the AfD differ widely regarding its behaviour. Parliamentary Director of the AfD parliamentary group, Stephan Brandner, believes that such a change is unnecessary. Surveys on the AfD show that the majority of potential AfD voters "do not want any change at all," says Brandner. While the AfD's political partners in the current Bundestag are extremely limited, one party that could be an ally is the comparatively new Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). Founded in 2024, it sits on the political left but has nationalist leanings that chime with the AfD's positions. BSW founder Sarah Wagenknecht said she is open to talks with the AfD, the German news magazine Spiegel reported. And the AfD's co-leader Tino Chrupalla told Welt TV that he would be available for talks with Wagenknecht. The party failed to win any seats in the current Bundestag, a situation that could change in the next federal election.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chinese social media posts falsely claim German right-wing leader praises China
China's former consul general to Belfast Zhang Meifang shared the 13-second clip of Weidel speaking in German on her account on X on May 21, 2025. "Co-chairwoman of Germany's AfD Weidel said only China's strength can defeat the United States' arrogance and force it sit down and negotiate!" its caption says. "Throughout history, the United States has only sat down for equal negotiations twice -- once during the Korean War, and again during the trade war. China was on the other side of the negotiations both times." Simplified Chinese text overlaid on the clip largely repeats the claim. The post appeared alongside a tide of false claims about the trade war between Washington and Beijing circulating online, which were amplified by Chinese state media outlets (archived link). The two sides announced a truce on May 12 that halted tit-for-tat tariffs announced since President Donald Trump's return to the White House, with a further "framework" agreement reached on June 10 (archived link). China would supply rare earth minerals to the United States, which in turn would allow Chinese students to remain in US universities. Posts suggesting Weidel spoke about the trade war were shared elsewhere on X, TikTok and Weibo. Social media users appeared to believe the circulating claim, with one saying, "She is the guiding light of Germany". Another wrote, "Such an outspoken woman!" Despite having lived and worked in China, Weidel rarely publicly comments on the country (archived link). However, her subtitled speeches circulate widely on Chinese social media, with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle attributing her popularity to AfD and Beijing having similar stances on issues such as European military aid for Ukraine (archived link). The circulating video in fact shows Weidel criticising the German government, not praising China. A reverse image search found the clip was taken from a livestream of her speech at an AfD rally in Thuringia on August 31, 2024, a month before regional elections in Germany (archived link). During her remarks, she called the government's deportation of 28 Afghan nationals -- who German authorities said were "convicted offenders" with no right to remain -- a day before the AfD rally a "gimmick" (archived link). The false clip can be seen at the 55:04 mark of the livestream, where she went on to say, "Nothing is achieved. It should be up to a thousand people, not just 28." She did not mention China during the speech. German media reported Weidel told rally-goers that AfD would "ban Antifa as a terrorist organisation" if her party came to power during her speech (archived link).
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chinese social media posts falsely claim German right-wing leader praises China
China's former consul general to Belfast Zhang Meifang shared the 13-second clip of Weidel speaking in German on her account on X on May 21, 2025. "Co-chairwoman of Germany's AfD Weidel said only China's strength can defeat the United States' arrogance and force it sit down and negotiate!" its caption says. "Throughout history, the United States has only sat down for equal negotiations twice -- once during the Korean War, and again during the trade war. China was on the other side of the negotiations both times." Simplified Chinese text overlaid on the clip largely repeats the claim. The post appeared alongside a tide of false claims about the trade war between Washington and Beijing circulating online, which were amplified by Chinese state media outlets (archived link). The two sides announced a truce on May 12 that halted tit-for-tat tariffs announced since President Donald Trump's return to the White House, with a further "framework" agreement reached on June 10 (archived link). China would supply rare earth minerals to the United States, which in turn would allow Chinese students to remain in US universities. Posts suggesting Weidel spoke about the trade war were shared elsewhere on X, TikTok and Weibo. Social media users appeared to believe the circulating claim, with one saying, "She is the guiding light of Germany". Another wrote, "Such an outspoken woman!" Despite having lived and worked in China, Weidel rarely publicly comments on the country (archived link). However, her subtitled speeches circulate widely on Chinese social media, with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle attributing her popularity to AfD and Beijing having similar stances on issues such as European military aid for Ukraine (archived link). The circulating video in fact shows Weidel criticising the German government, not praising China. A reverse image search found the clip was taken from a livestream of her speech at an AfD rally in Thuringia on August 31, 2024, a month before regional elections in Germany (archived link). During her remarks, she called the government's deportation of 28 Afghan nationals -- who German authorities said were "convicted offenders" with no right to remain -- a day before the AfD rally a "gimmick" (archived link). The false clip can be seen at the 55:04 mark of the livestream, where she went on to say, "Nothing is achieved. It should be up to a thousand people, not just 28." She did not mention China during the speech. German media reported Weidel told rally-goers that AfD would "ban Antifa as a terrorist organisation" if her party came to power during her speech (archived link).
