Political situation in Germany

A heated debate in Germany about “problems in the urban landscape”

The word “urban landscape” has recently become the subject of a heated debate in Germany. This is reported by Deutschlandfunk.

In a clip that has been circulated online, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) speaks of the fact that migration has indeed decreased, but that there are still “problems in the urban landscape”.

Critics have interpreted this as Merz meaning that people with a certain skin color or background are in themselves a problem. The Green party, among others, has called the statement “discriminatory and indecent”.

Researchers believe that the expression functions as a so-called “dog whistle”, to say something that sounds neutral but in fact has an underlying racist or political undertone.

Merz identifies AFD as “main opponent”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that the far-right AFD party is the “main opponent” ahead of next year’s five state elections, writes Spiegel.

According to Merz, his Christian Democratic party CDU will clearly distance itself from the AFD.

“It’s not just details that separate us, but fundamental issues and fundamental political convictions,” said Merz.

The discussion within the CDU about how to approach the AFD has been going on for a long time, but Merz emphasizes that rapprochement is not on the cards.

The statement prompted a reporter to ask what is actually new about the CDU’s approach, to which the Chancellor replied “nothing at all.”