"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is continuing to face criticism for his controversial "cityscape" remarks last week, in which he insinuated that migrants and refugees have had a negative impact on the physical appearance of German towns. After facing immediate backlash, Merz doubled down on his comments on Monday, urging people to "ask your daughters" what he meant. This has been slammed by some as racist for implying that immigrant men are more likely to commit sexual harassment or other crimes a claim not borne out by data."
"Tim Klussendorfbei, the general secretary of the Social Democrats (SPD), the junior partner in the coalition government alongside Merz's conservative CDU/CSU alliance, said it was fine to discuss problems in Germany, but warned against simplifications and generalizations. "Linking everything back to a single issue, the issue of migration, and conflating and generalizing everything that just divides people and destroys trust," he told ntv, adding: "I have higher expectations of a head of government.""
"Merz is no longer a "commentator on edge of the action, throwing out opinions," he told the Funke media group. Rather, Merz has a "particular responsibility for the cohesiveness of our society and our debate culture." While there may be certain issues in some parts of Germany, Radtke cautioned that "problems like drug addiction, homelessness or toxic masculinity among young people can't simply be deported; they have to be dealt with properly.""
Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested migrants and refugees negatively affected the physical appearance of German towns, prompting immediate backlash. Merz doubled down and urged people to "ask your daughters" what he meant, a phrase criticized as implying immigrant men are more likely to commit sexual harassment or other crimes, a claim not supported by data. SPD general secretary Tim Klussendorfbei warned against reducing complex social issues to migration, saying such generalizations divide people and erode trust and that a head of government should show greater responsibility. CDU lawmaker Dennis Radtke called for a more appropriate style and urged concrete solutions for issues like addiction, homelessness and toxic masculinity rather than deportation.
Read at www.dw.com
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