German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Tuesday insisted he has “no differences” with Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the issue of Syrian immigrants after coming under intense pressure from his own conservative party.
Wadephul’s comments last week in Damascus – in which he warned that it was “barely possible” for Syrians living in Germany to return home due to the devastation in the country – have been widely criticized by his colleagues in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Merz’s CDU has promised to step up deportations of foreign criminals and irregular migrants since taking office in May, hoping to ward off the threat from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The chancellor on Monday publicly contradicted Wadephul’s remarks, promising that Germany can “begin repatriations” of Syrians following the end of the civil war.
Berlin is negotiating with Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa to resume deportations to the Middle Eastern country after they were suspended in 2012 due to the conflict.
But Merz emphasized that the German government also wants Syrians to return to their homeland voluntarily to assist with the reconstruction of the war-torn country.
“And those in Germany who then refuse to return to their country, we can of course deport in the near future,” he added.
Senior CDU lawmaker Steffen Bilger was among those venting their frustration with Wadephul on Tuesday. “Clearly, it wasn’t good that we had to have this debate for days on end,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Alexander Hoffmann from the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), proposed that deportations of convicted criminals should be followed by those of unemployed Syrians.
According to government figures, around 951,400 Syrian nationals were based in Germany at the end of August, including 920 with a deportation order. Hoffmann said that 500,000 Syrians are in receipt of unemployment benefit.
Wadephul declared that he was in “complete agreement” with Merz’s position, explaining that Germany has been “very hospitable” to Syrians in the decade since the European migrant crisis.
Germany has a “legitimate interest” in ensuring that Syrians who were “taken in” and supported by German taxpayers will “be prepared to return” if they have not found employment, Wadephul argued.
The foreign minister received backing from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who sympathized with Wadephul during a visit to Ghana.
“Someone who stands before the ruins of war, expresses their horror and asks themselves aloud whether it is possible to live there – it is okay to allow that horror to linger for a while,” he said.
However, opposition parties have highlighted the public wrangle over Wadephul’s comments as a sign of poor party unity.
Katharina Dröge from the Greens questioned: “What do you have a foreign minster for, if, when he goes to Syria and gets an impression of the situation, the assessment of your own foreign minister is not trusted?”