Merkel Says East Germans and Syrians Are 'Equally German' at a Leipzig Prize Ceremony; Breitbart Calls It a Doubling Down and Sets Out the AfD's Opposing View
Breitbart, citing Die Welt, says the former chancellor told a Leipzig audience 'all German citizens are the Volk' and accused populists of inciting envy. The outlet's framing is its own; we note where.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Syrian migrants and Germans from the former East are equally part of the German people, Breitbart reports.
The remarks. Merkel spoke at the International Mendelssohn Prize ceremony in Leipzig. According to Die Welt, which Breitbart cites, she said that in Germany all power flows from the Volk, but that "the Volk are all German citizens." She went on: "And no one asks: 'Did you come later from East Germany, or did you perhaps arrive as a Syrian only three years ago?' All German citizens are the Volk."
Who she aimed at. Merkel criticized "populist parties" that, she said, try to divide the country. "They try to create divisions, they try to incite hatred, they try to differentiate and thereby provoke envy," she said, in reference to people who distinguish between those who became citizens recently and those who have been citizens longer.
Breitbart's framing. Breitbart says she "doubled down on the open-borders ideology" of her career and links the debate to her 2015 decision to admit large numbers of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. Those descriptions are the outlet's own. It also notes that the word "Volk" carries historical baggage because the Nazi regime used it, and that German law limits some political speech.
The AfD's view. Breitbart quotes a 2021 statement from the Alternative for Germany: "For us, there is no such thing as first- and second-class citizens. At the same time, the party commits itself to preserving a German people distinct from the people of the state." It says party leader Alice Weidel has argued that it is not unconstitutional to see the German people as a distinct ethnic group.
The British echo. Breitbart ties the argument to a debate in Britain over who counts as English, citing Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's view that she is English because she was born in London, and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman's view that "British" can be the civic identity while English, Welsh and Scottish should be ethnic categories.
Why it matters here. The question of whether citizenship alone makes someone part of a nation is live on both sides of the Atlantic. Merkel's side and the AfD's side give different answers, and both are in this report.
What we could not check. We did not read the Die Welt report or the AfD document, and we did not see a transcript of the speech. Quotes are as Breitbart translates them.