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AfD complain of ‘Gestapo methods’ after hotels ban their leaders

At the end of June, around 600 Alternative for Germany (AfD) party delegates will descend upon the Bavarian city of Augsburg. But the decision by two hotels to cancel bookings by AfD members has thrown plans into confusion.

AfD complain of ‘Gestapo methods’ after hotels ban their leaders
Ralph Weber (AfD). Photo: DPA

Among the AfD delegates who have been rejected by hotels is Ralph Weber, who up until Sunday believed he would be staying at the “Drei Mohren” hotel. 

Weber, a party representative in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern regional parliament, was told at the weekend that his reservation had been cancelled, leaving him and his wife without a place to stay during the conference at the end of June.

Four weeks after making the booking, Weber was told that he wasn’t allowed to stay due to his membership of the AfD, which is known for its anti-Islam stance.

Whilst this shocked the AfD, Weber’s situation isn’t unique.

Other party members were informed by Augsburg’s “Holiday Inn Express” that they were barred from staying there; Die Welt reported that the letter stated the members (including senior figures such as Alexander Gauland, Beatrix von Storch Alice Weidel and Kay Gottschalk) couldn’t stay due to “controversial public statements by the persons mentioned, made against people based on their origin or descent”.

Weber told Die Welt the cancellation reminded him of “Gestapo methods”, and Gottschalk said that it is “worrying and symbolises a toxic climate”.

Wider societal debate

The issues surrounding the AfD’s stay in Augsburg fit into a wider political and ethical debate about how to deal with the AfD. While some liberal commentators argue that the AfD should not be victimized, others, particularly on the left of the debate, claim that they have forfeited their right to equal treatment.

Alexander Gauland, co-founder and leader of the party, was told at the beginning of June that he would no longer be invited onto Frank Plasberg’s talkshow “Hart aber Fair”.

Plasberg rescinded Gaulan’s invitation, because “someone who rationalises National Socialist crimes cannot be a guest on Hart aber Fair. Therefore, Alexander Gauland will not be invited back in the future”.

This followed Gauland’s speech to the “Junge Alternative” (an AfD youth organisation) in Seebach, Thuringia, where he argued that “Hitler and the Nazis are just one drop of bird shit in over 1,000 years of successful German history”.

Prior to this, Gauland had said that “yes, we accept responsibility for those twelve years… but we have a glorious history and that lasted longer than those damn twelve years”.

While Gauland's comments were widely condemned, many commentators thought that it was a step in the direction of censorship to no longer invite the leader of Germany's third largest part onto one of the country's most-watched talk shows.

What do you think: was the hotel within its rights to cancel the bookings of the AfD members, or do you think this decision was undemocratic?

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GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

Foreigners in Germany are waiting on tenterhooks for the introduction of the new dual nationality law on Thursday - but the centre-right CDU and CSU say they would overturn the reform if re-elected next year.

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

“The CDU and CSU will reverse this unsuccessful reform,” Alexander Throm (CDU), spokesperson on domestic policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told DPA on Tuesday.

“Dual citizenship must remain the exception and be limited to countries that share our values.”

Throm also criticised the new citizenship law for reducing the amount of time foreigners need to live in the country before naturalising as Germans, describing the new residence requirements as “far too short”.

“After five or even three years, it is not yet possible to determine with certainty whether integration has been successful in the long term,” he stated.

“The recent caliphate demonstrations and the rampant Islamist extremism, often by people with German passports, must be a wake-up call for us all.”

READ ALSO: Which foreign residents are likely to become German after citizenship law change?

Despite vociferous opposition, the alliance between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party (CSU) was powerless to stop the traffic-light coalition’s citizenship reform passing in both the Bundestag and Bundesrat earlier this year. 

The reform, which permits the holding of multiple passports, lowers residence requirements and removes language hurdles for certain groups, is set to come into force on June 27th. 

But with the CDU and CSU emerging as clear winners in the recent EU parliamentary elections and regularly landing on 30 percent or above in the polls, it’s possible that the party could be on course to re-enter government next year. 

In this situation, the centre-right parties have pledged to try and undo what senior CDU politicians have described as a “dangerous” reform.

“It is not unusual for successive governments to reverse decisions made by the previous government,” Andrea Lindholz, the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group said in a recent response to a question

“We will maintain our position on this and will continue to strive for a corresponding change.”

READ ALSO: What are citizenship offices around Germany doing to prepare for the new law?

Whether the CDU and CSU can secure enough votes at both state and federal elections to change the law in the future remains to be seen.

The parties may also have to compromise on their plans with any future coalition partner, such as the Greens, Social Democrats (SPD) or Free Democrats (FDP), all of whom support liberal immigration laws and the holding of multiple nationalities. 

‘Citizenship devaluation law’

The CDU and CSU parties, which form a centre-right alliance nicknamed the Union, have long been opposed to dual nationality in Germany.

During their years of governing in a so-called grand coalition with the centre-right Social Democrats (SPD), the parties had regularly made reforms of citizenship one of their red lines, citing the danger of hostile nations influencing Germany from within. 

In a recent parliamentary speech back in January, Throm had slammed the bill as a “citizenship devaluation law” and accused the government of trying to generate a new electorate to win votes.

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

In comments aimed primarily at Germany’s large Turkish diaspora, the CDU politician claimed that people who had lived in Germany for decades but not taken German citizenship had already chosen their old country over Germany.

The majority of Turks in Germany are also supporters of the authoritarian president Recep Erdogan, he argued.

Responding to the claims, FDP migration expert Ann-Veruschka Jurisch said the opposition was fuelling resentments against migrants by claiming the government was “squandering German citizenship”.

In fact, she argued, the reform has tightened up requirements by ensuring that people who claim benefits and cannot support themselves are unable to become German citizens.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Germany’s citizenship law reform

In addition, the B1 language requirements have only been softened in a few exceptional cases, for example to honour the lifetime achievements of the guest worker generation who had few opportunities when they arrived, Jurisch said. 

If foreigners have committed crimes, the authorities will be able to investigate whether these involved racist or anti-Semitic motives before citizenship is granted, she added. 

With reporting by DPA

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