Mr. Merz on the Cityscape: He Means Me, Too

A few days after Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s remarks about migration in the cityscape, hundreds to thousands of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to demand diversity and oppose racism. Protests also took place in other cities such as Krefeld and Munich.

With lighters and phone flashlights, demonstrators in the capital created a sea of light at dusk and chanted “We, we, we are the cityscape!” Speakers on a stage directly in front of the landmark accused the CDU leader of lacking a clear boundary to the AfD.

On largely home-made placards and banners, messages read “Ban the AfD now!”, “Better human rights than right-wing people”, “We welcome all people” or “Friedrich Merz — is this a joke?”

“When Mr. Merz talks about the cityscape, he doesn’t just mean people who aren’t white; he means me, too,” said a trans woman who spoke on stage in Berlin. “It’s not only supposed foreigners who are targets of hatred, but also queer people, people who require care, people living in poverty.” “Mr. Merz, if you say that you are disturbed by this cityscape, then you should question your worldview.” There was loud applause from the crowd for such criticisms repeatedly.

The organizers in Berlin put the number of participants at around 5,000. The police estimated up to 1,800. The demonstration, organized at short notice under the motto “Firewall Up! We Are the Cityscape” was called by a coalition that includes Parents Against the Right and Hand in Hand, which campaigns against racism and for an open and solidarity-based society.

Background of Merz’s Remark

The demonstrations were sparked by a remark Merz made on Tuesday in Potsdam. He was approached by a reporter about the rise of the AfD. The chancellor said that shortcomings in migration policy would be corrected. “But we still have this problem in the cityscape, which is why the Federal Interior Minister is now involved in a broad effort to enable and carry out returns on a large scale.”

This remark drew sharp criticism — as it did at the end of June when Merz, on a talk show, referred to queer people as part of a “circus tent” (TheColu.mn reported). Both statements were described by demonstrators as sweeping, blanket slurs.

Spahn Supports Merz

Merz also drew support, for instance from Jens Spahn, the openly gay leader of the CDU parliamentary group: “The Chancellor actually said something that anyone would notice when walking through Duisburg,” the CDU politician told the “Bild” newspaper. “Irregular migration has changed things.” In addition to Duisburg and “some mid-sized German cities,” Spahn also cited Hamburg and Frankfurt, particularly their main train stations. He described conditions as neglect, drug dealers, young men, mostly with a migration background, mostly from Eastern Europe or Arab-Muslim cultural spheres.

Recently, former influential Union politicians had called for a new strategy in dealing with the AfD. Merz had labeled the AfD as the “main opponent” for the upcoming election campaigns just before the CDU presidium meeting and had rejected calls from his party to soften the firewall toward the AfD. (dpa)