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LIVING IN GERMANY

Living in Germany: Citizenship law hits another delay, a historic day of fate and the letter ‘ß’

In this week's roundup we look at what's going on with the dual citizenship law, Germany's most fateful day and interesting aspects of the letter 'ß'.

A German passport
A German passport and naturalisation certificate. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez

Living in Germany is our weekly look at some of the news and talking points in Germany that you might not have heard about. Members can receive it directly to their inbox on Saturday.

Will the new citizenship law make it into the Bundestag?

Germany’s citizenship reform hit another hurdle this week when it was revealed that the first reading in the Bundestag was taken off the agenda. It’s another setback for the landmark legislation that was delayed for cabinet deliberations earlier this year. The proposed law will result in big changes – the required residence for citizenship applicants is to be reduced from eight to five years (and three in some cases) and everyone will be allowed to hold more than one passport. The pause in the process is due to coalition partner, the Free Democrats (FDP), wanting to further tighten the requirements around anti-Semitism. Social Democrat MP Hakan Demir told The Local’s Germany in Focus podcast: “The question mark that they have right now is if the new citizenship act is good enough to prevent anyone who is anti-semitic from getting German citizenship.” 

The good news is that MPs have told us the law will be back on the parliamentary agenda soon. “The citizenship law is expected to be presented to the Bundestag for its first reading in a fortnight’s time – so the week beginning November 27th,” FDP’s Stephen Thomae said. So despite these delays, it looks like the legislation – which is one of the most significant for foreigners in Germany – will make it through the parliamentary process, even if the road is a little rocky. 

Tweet of the week

If there’s one date you need to learn to get familiar with German history, it’s November 9th.

Where is this?

A view of German autumn weather

Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd Weißbrod

There has been some stunning Herbst (autumn) weather in Germany recently, as can be seen in this view of Teck Castle or ‘Burg Teck’ surrounded by orange and green trees. Teck is an old Medieval castle built in what was previously the kingdom of Württemberg.

In 1519 the castle was conquered in the ‘War of the Swabian League’  and burned down in 1525 in the ‘Peasants’ War’. In 1738 the Kirchheim Oberamt gave permission to demolish the castle, although some of the foundation walls were preserved. The castle was rebuilt in 1889 and it’s now a hostel and restaurant. 

Did you know?

German speakers use the letter ß (eszett) frequently, but did you know that the letter is not used everywhere in the German-speaking world? Switzerland, unlike other German-speaking countries, doesn’t use the eszett. Some say that’s because the Swiss keyboard is adapted to the French alphabet, rather than the German one.

Instead, the Swiss always write the double s, making words like Masse/Maße and Busse/Buße, indistinguishable by spelling alone. In contrast, the eszett continues to be in use in other German-speaking nations, such as Austria and some parts of Belgium. To read more on this fascinating little letter, check out our article here. 

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INSIDE GERMANY

Inside Germany: Becoming German, European election vote and the Scottish ‘Mannschaft’

From what we can expect from voters at the European elections to what citizenship means to foreign residents and the Scottish take on the German word 'Mannschaft', here are a few things we're talking about this week.

Inside Germany: Becoming German, European election vote and the Scottish 'Mannschaft'

Inside Germany is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in Germany that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

What can we expect as Germany goes to the polls for Europe?

On Sunday, EU citizens living in Germany will cast their vote to elect a new European parliament. 

A lot has changed since the last elections were held back in 2019 – the UK has since left the EU (meaning no Brits in Europe can vote unless they have an EU citizenship), we’ve experienced a worldwide pandemic and war has broken out in Europe. 

The big story of 2019 from Germany was the Green surge. 

Although the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) received the largest share of votes (28.7 percent), the Greens won more than 20 percent of the vote in Germany, increasing by about 10 percent from 2014.

Support for the conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) dropped considerably. 

So what can we expect from voters in Germany this time? 

According to recent polls, the conservatives are likely to secure a victory on the German side of things. The CDU and CSU will scoop up around 30 percent of the vote, according to surveys.

poster urging people to vote

A giant poster announcing the upcoming European elections, on the facade of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, eastern France. Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left SPD, on the other hand, is only polling between 14 and 16 percent. 

The poll figures for the Greens have fluctuated. The INSA institute reported in April that the Greens could receive 11.5 percent of the vote. But recent polls show the party receiving between 13 and 15 percent – a significant drop from 2019. 

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has also lost support. While pollsters INSA predicted the party would take 22 percent of the vote back in February, recent polls put them on 14 to 17 percent.

Meanwhile, the Free Democrats (FDP), currently in government with the SPD and Greens, have been hovering between just three and five percent in polls since the beginning of the year.

Aside from these well-known parties, there are also a number of smaller ones.

If you’re eligible to vote, who will you be choosing? Good luck at the ballot box and make sure to check The Local’s coverage as the results come in. 

READ ALSO:

Germany in Focus podcast

After devastating floods in Germany that have claimed lives and cause huge destruction, we talk about how communities are coping and the areas most at risk of flooding on this week’s podcast. We also get into predictions for the European parliamentary elections and answer a reader question on how much you need to earn to qualify for German citizenship, 

With the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament coming up on June 14th, we share some interesting facts about the stadiums involved and talk about the importance of football culture in Germany with guest Kit Holden. 

What does German citizenship mean to foreign residents in Germany?

With the new citizenship law coming into force later this month, we asked The Local readers to share their feelings about citizenship and the process in a questionnaire. More than 100 people filled out our survey in just a few days and were delighted to hear about the different experiences. 

In the first of our articles, we looked at what securing a German passport means to residents. 

Of 121 readers who took our survey, 81 percent intend to apply for citizenship, while 12 percent are still unsure. 

About six percent said they will not apply, and a few respondents had already naturalised. 

A German citizenship certificate and passport.

A German citizenship certificate and passport. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez

For many people, a huge benefit of citizenship is about gaining freedom of movement. 

“Free movement with the world’s strongest passport is the main goal here,” Khandakar Rahman from Bangladesh, told us. 

Others mentioned that they would feel more integrated – and have course receive full rights to voting. 

Kristian from Norway said the would “finally be an EU citizen, to be able to vote, and also to actually be German”.

READ MORE: What would German citizenship mean to foreign residents?

The Scottish ‘Mannschaft’ set to take on Germany 

As Germany is about to take on Scotland in the opener for UEFA Euro 2024, ad executives for the Scottish soft drink Irn Bru have outdone themselves. 

They’ve launched an advert playing around with the nickname for Germany’s national football – ‘Die Mannschaft’ 

READ MORE: German word of the day – Mannschaft 

I was keen to know what Germans felt about this advert featuring a guy in a kilt talking about how Scotland’s ‘Mannschaft’ may even reach the semis. 

While many Germans thought it was funny, a few pointed out that the advert technically doesn’t use the word correctly. 

One thing for sure is that the Scottish love it. 

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