Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn (CDU) has accused the Berlin Senate of neglecting the police and sees a reason for the New Year’s Eve riots in the “cultural-religious” environment of Neukölln.
“The Berlin police are too often let down by the Senate,” said Spahn of the “Bild am Sonntag”. “They are not properly equipped, they work a lot of overtime and parts of the Senate have a general suspicion of the police instead of violence against police officers determined to oppose.”
When asked why there were violent riots in the Berlin district of Neukölln on New Year’s Eve, Spahn replied: “It played a role that there are too many young men without a job who have a pronounced macho attitude. Who rather worship the members of the Remmo or Abou Chaker clan like heroes than have respect for the state and its representatives. This is what happens when you allow the rule of law to be weak and criminal clans to spread like an ulcer throughout the city.”
Most of the migrants in recent years come from countries of origin with a different standard of living and a different cultural background, said Spahn. “Overcoming such a difference demands an enormous amount of integration work from all sides and is very exhausting. Everyday life in many countries of origin is male-dominated, anti-Semitic and homophobic, and often more violent. Not everyone discards this everyday experience just because they set foot on European soil.”
Spahn complained that debates about migration and integration in Germany could no longer be addressed openly. “It is above all a certain cultural-religious environment in which there are always difficulties. Then it’s about a problematic mixture of lived values, personal frustration and a lack of perspective. But if you talk about it in Germany, the Left immediately calls you a racist or even a Nazi. If we hide problems instead of talking about them openly, it damages our democracy.”
The Union politician criticized the traffic light’s plans to simplify access to German citizenship. “Citizenship should be the end point of successful integration, not the starting point,” said Spahn. “That reminds me of Berlin’s school policy. We are lowering the hurdles for the Abitur so that more people can do it. Always lowering the conditions is not a solution, not even for citizenship.”
Tip: Official statistics – Germany: Number of foreigners and people with a migration background
CDU – Jens Spahn: Partner Daniel, corona chaos, villa of millions
