German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has caused huge uproar on the German Left with a casual remark about how migration has negatively affected the country’s cities.
Green party MPs accused Merz of “discrimination” and demanded an apology. Sören Pellmann, parliamentary leader of the left-wing Die Linke party, said Merz had “dealt another blow to our democracy”.
On October 14, Merz officially visited Potsdam, the capital of the State of Brandenburg. During a press meeting, a journalist asked him what he was doing to counter the rise of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD) in the polls.
Merz answered: “We have done a lot on migration. Our government has lowered the number [of migrants] by 60 per cent if you compare August 2025 with August 2024. But of course, we still have this problem in our urban landscape [Stadtbild in German]. And that is why the interior minister is busy with enabling deportations.”
Merz’ spokesman Stefan Kornelius later referred to Merz’s remarks, telling journalists: “I think you interpret too much into it. The Chancellor was merely talking about the change of course in migration policy by the new federal government.”
Merz’ comments were also struck from the official record of the press meet-up in Potsdam.
Leftist politicians and journalists still pounced on his comments, accusing him of racism and discrimination. Green MP Helge Limburg wrote on X on October 15: “How else are we to understand this than that Friedrich Merz is complaining about too many non-white people in urban centres? That is unworthy of a Chancellor.”
Der Bundeskanzler erklärt Migration zum "Problem für das Stadtbild".
Wie soll man das anders verstehen, als dass Friedrich #Merz sich über zu viele nicht-weiße Menschen in den Innenstädten beschwert?
Das ist eines Bundeskanzlers unwürdig. pic.twitter.com/rswmB4qtN8
— Helge Limburg, MdB (@Helge_Limburg) October 15, 2025
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegener – who is also a member of Merz’ Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, but considered an internal rival of the Chancellor – also distanced himself from Merz’ remarks. saying: “Berlin is a diverse, international city. This will always be visible in the urban landscape. There are problems with violence, garbage and crime, but you cannot pin that on nationality,” he said.
The Chancellor did, though, receive support from various sides. Michael Ketschmer, State Prime Minister of Saxony and also a CDU politician, told magazine Spiegel that the problem was not migration per se, but adherence to shared values, adding: “A lot has changed since 2014. The papers are full of violent acts by people who – it turns out – are actually in this country illegally.”
Entrepreneur Rainer Zitelmann wrote on X that Merz was “merely saying what everybody can see every day”, sharing a video compilation of scenes from German inner cites.
STADTBILD – Merz spricht nur aus, was jeder täglich sehen kann. Aber die Linksgrünen von der „und ich freue mich drauf“-Fraktion überbieten sich wieder in der Wirklichkeitsleugnung pic.twitter.com/X1QqCQU3Ld
— Dr. Dr. Rainer Zitelmann (@RZitelmann) October 17, 2025
Wolfgang Büscher, spokesman for Arche, a Christian aid association that works with young migrants, voiced his support, telling Welt TV: “Mr Merz is right, he is 100 per cent right in saying this. But we cannot solve this problem by deporting a few hundred of these people.
“We have to distribute these young people around, we have to educate them. We should be thinking about compulsory education.”
Nicole Büttner, General Secretary of the Liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), also supported Merz, saying: “That is exactly the kind of political nitpicking that people are fed up with. It is not about xenophobia, but about people being able to feel safe.”
Others on the Right were less benign, claiming that Merz did not practice what he preached.
Publicist Henryk Broder said: “That is the real scandal. Not that he said it but that he does not stand by it. He must state the facts as they are.
“And the facts are that the most colourful neighbourhoods are also the most littered.”
