The outcry is great when CDU leader Merz speaks of “social tourism” among Ukrainians. Even in their own ranks, there is apparently astonishment “about the very pointed formulation”. Merz now explains that he wants to apologize “if my choice of words is perceived as hurtful”.
After his accusation of “social tourism” against Ukrainian refugees, CDU leader Friedrich Merz backtracked. “There has been a lot of criticism of what I said yesterday about the refugees from Ukraine. I regret the use of the word ‘social tourism’. It was an inaccurate description of an isolated problem,” he wrote on Twitter.
Merz continued that his advice was exclusively for “the lack of registration of the refugees”. “It was and is far from my intention to criticize the refugees from Ukraine, who are confronted with a hard fate.” In another tweet follows an if-then apology: “If my choice of words is felt to be hurtful, then I apologize in all formalities.”
Merz told Bild TV on Monday evening: “We are now experiencing social tourism from these refugees: to Germany, back to Ukraine, to Germany, back to Ukraine.” The background, according to Merz: Initially, Ukraine refugees were entitled to care under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act – since June they have received basic security, i.e. the same benefits as Hartz IV recipients, and are therefore better off. The “non-word” jury of linguists chose the word “social tourism” as the non-word of the year in 2013.
Merz’s statements had triggered cross-party criticism. “How does it actually fit in with the Union’s much-vaunted solidarity with Ukraine that Friedrich Merz speaks of ‘social tourism’ in the context of people fleeing this terrible war of aggression?” asked Green Party leader Ricarda Lang on Twitter. Green foreign politician Jürgen Trittin said on “ntv Frühstart” that Merz liked to constantly provide keywords for the right-wing mob with his choice of words. He stimulates the right edge with it. “Anyone fleeing a war in Ukraine is not a social tourist,” says Trittin.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also sharply criticized Merz. “Motivation on the backs of Ukrainian women and children who fled from Putin’s bombs and tanks is shabby,” wrote the SPD politician on Twitter.
The FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr called the statements “absolutely out of place”. “People from Ukraine come to us because they are fleeing Putin’s brutal war. Many of them have lost everything and fear for their loved ones.” Dürr continued: “I have met women and children who have fled, some of whom are driving back to Ukraine at risk of their lives to see their husbands or fathers again. I cannot understand that the chairman of the Christian Democrats is accusing these people of social tourism. Mr. Merz is also endangering them Such narratives generate public support for Ukraine.”
Even in the CDU, his own party, Merz’s statement apparently caused amazement. The parliamentary director of the Union faction in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei, tried to put the complaint about “social tourism” into perspective. Merz used a “certainly very pointed wording” to point out a problem that may exist here,” said Frei. He admitted “that the term can be misunderstood”. The CDU politician said he had no corresponding figures that could conclusively assess the situation.
The Greens politician and deputy parliamentary group leader Konstantin von Notz suspects calculation behind Merz’s statement. Even before his apology, he wrote on Twitter: “Accept bets on what acrobatics @_FriedrichMerz used today to use the deliberately set term of
No apology came from Merz for his comments on possible Russian refugees. In the interview on Monday evening, he said that he expected even greater problems with refugees from Russia “if the Federal Government did what the Federal Minister of the Interior suggested, namely here now practically all conscientious objectors to military service, mobilization in Russia, had access to the Federal Republic of Germany To provide”. The Union is “strictly opposed”.
Federal Interior Minister Faeser told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” that deserters threatened with severe repression usually receive international protection in Germany. For Green Party politician Trittin, there is no question that Russian conscientious objectors should be given protection in Germany: “Anyone who tries to prevent this is doing the business of warmonger Vladimir Putin,” he said on “ntv Frühstart”.
