The SPD, the Greens and the Left Party want to grant foreigners in Berlin the right to vote and stand for election. If they succeed, anyone who has lived in Germany for at least five years will automatically have the right to vote in the capital.
A memorandum presented jointly on Saturday by Berlin’s Die Linke (The Left), Die Grünen (The Greens) and the Social Democrats (SPD) contains a number of controversial proposals. Among other things, the coalition wants to expropriate large privately-owned housing companies in order to distribute the properties to citizens in need, increase public spending and expand the non-governmental sector in the capital.
Among the most controversial points, however, are the left-wing coalition’s plans for migration policy, writes Apollo News.
In chapter six of the exploratory report, ‘A Welcoming City and Place for Social Cohesion’, one can read:
‘Participation in Berlin must never be a matter of a passport. We are strongly committed to a society based on solidarity and inclusion.”
This means that voting rights should be introduced for foreign nationals at both local and state level. The only requirement is that a person has lived in Germany for five years. It is unclear whether the right to vote should be granted to migrants who have been deported from Germany but who refuse to leave the country.
This will likely require an amendment to the German Basic Law: the Federal Constitutional Court ruled as early as 1990 that a general right to vote for foreigners is incompatible with the Basic Law. A constitutional amendment was required to grant an exception for EU citizens in local elections.
The coalition also wants Berlin to become a ‘safe haven’, a protected place for illegal migrants. They also intend to facilitate the legalisation of illegal migrants, a measure they wish to utilise as much as possible.
This appears to be a carbon copy of the Democrats in the US, who establish safe havens for illegal immigrants (sanctuary states and cities etc.) wherever they gain political power. Even serious criminals are covered by this scheme.
Furthermore, the climate-friendly and left-wing coalition intends to reduce controls on the misuse by foreigners of public benefits funded by German taxpayers. They intend to abolish the payment card, which is designed to prevent the misuse of social benefits by refugees and has been implemented almost nationwide. In
The coalition intends to replace this by introducing a ‘basic bank account’. In addition, a so-called ‘city ID’ is to be introduced. This is likely because virtually all migrants arriving in Europe have disposed of all forms of identification documents on their journey from their home country, making it difficult to verify their identity. This makes any deportations difficult or impossible.
All this is to be complemented by strengthening the migration advisory boards within the framework of the law.
It will be interesting to see whether these measures are radical enough for Bavaria’s Minister-President Markus Söder (CSU) to follow through on his threat to halt transfers to Berlin should the radical party Die Linke come to power in the capital.
CDU/CSU threaten economic sanctions if ‘extremists’ come to power in Berlin
