A few days ago, on June 29, a far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), made its ambition public: to rise to power. With that, in Essen (North Westphalia), the AfD supporters shouted their intention clearly: “We want to govern, first in the east (of Germany), then in the west, and then at the federal level.” They said so just weeks after the AfD bagged record votes in the elections of the parliament of the European Union (EU).
On January 27 this year, on the occasion of the Holocaust Memorial Day, in Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had prognosticated the rise of “neo-Nazis and their dark networks” in Germany. On June 9, in the European Parliamentary Election 2024, whereas the conservative alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) won 30 percent of the vote, the AfD notched up an electoral gain to stand second by winning 16 percent of the vote, outnumbering Chancellor Scholz’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP), which could secure 14 percent of the vote. The SDP is in coalition with the Green Party and Free Democratic Party, which also performed low. Founded in 2013, the AfD achieved this feat in just 10 years. The victory in the EU emboldened the AfD’s resolve back in Germany.
One of the major thrusts of the AfD is to condemn citizens of foreign origin (ausländers) especially those with African and Asian roots into forcing them to leave Germany. Though thousands from the centre-left often march in Dusseldorf to protest against the rise of the far-right, such marches are to showcase a liberal concern. Otherwise, such marches remain otiose. Similarly, though there is a debate over whether or not to ban far-right political parties, a groundswell of right-wingers supporting the AfD is emerging. The AfD’s electoral victory in EU has ruled out the possibility of its being banned in Germany. Instead, in the AfD, Friedrich Merz, the leader of the CDU, sees a coalition partner to introduce a more conservative era than the former Chancellor Angela Merkel could present. Through the centre-right CDU-CSU coalition, Merkel reigned over Germany for four terms (2005-2021) by selling a main slogan, Germany is not a land of immigration (Deutschland ist kein Einwanderungsland). Now, Merz intends to follow Merkel’s footsteps to win general elections due in September 2025. Incumbent Chancellor Scholz often says that right-wing parties pose a threat to democracy. This is where Scholz goes wrong, as he sees politics divorced from socio-cultural realities. The AfD sneaks in to represent society more than politics. Whereas the SPD-led coalition has been trying to portray a centre-left political image by inviting non-European nationals to work and live in Germany under various schemes, the coalition has been failing in halting the jumping of right-wing conservatives from society into politics to sabotage the schemes.
To elaborate, after enforcing the new Skilled Immigration Act on March 1, 2020 Chancellor Scholz’s government has been promoting Immigration to Germany, under the rubric of the Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte), despite the fact that the government has been fighting a rearguard battle for political survival. Chances are galore that the next general elections will be lost to the right-wing conservative CDU-CSU-AfD coalition. Now, the question is this: what would be the future of those non-European nationals (including Pakistani educated class and skilled workers) being enticed by any such immigration scheme?
The past is a teacher. Such immigration schemes remain episodic, as center-left political parties try to showcase their international liberal image by announcing such schemes which fall short of societal approval. Skilled workers from developing Asian countries such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka fall prey to such schemes. They fail to understand that such pronouncements are political stunts meant more for impressing the international community than for serving anything substantial on the ground, as former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder did in March 2002 by introducing an immigration law to invite professional and skilled workers from developing countries. Schröder’s policies (including a reform Agenda 2010) drew criticism from right-wing conservative parties led by Merkel, who found a chance to gain political space. Schröder’s immigration policy was antagonistic to the social realities of Germany. Consequently, Schröder, who had ascended the throne in 1998, could not complete the second term. He had to call for new elections in 2005, which he lost to Merkel. Nevertheless, the cost of misadventures of Schröder was paid by skilled workers. They were called the Sin of Schröder.
Now, whereas incumbent Chancellor Scholz is losing popularity, he is inviting skilled workers from developing countries to work and live in Germany. The question is this: after losing the next general elections to right-wing conservative parties, what would be the future of foreign (Asian, Pakistani) skilled workers in Germany? No one answers this question. The German government also refuses to unravel what happened to the Pakistani educated class and skilled workers who were enticed to work in Germany during the era of Schröder?
During the tumultuous times of the Schröder’s rule, hell was unleashed on foreign skilled workers. They were thrown out of jobs, and failed to be protected by German courts, which argued that when German employers were no more ready to retain them, the courts could not enforce contracts and work agreements. Even renowned research institutes followed suit, and suddenly got awoken to the right-wing conservative spell of German competitiveness: no foreigner (aüslander) could dare compete with the Germans in Germany. In Berlin, Asian students were spat at in the streets. They were asked to get off from trains, thereby insulting them publicly – to demean them to leave Germany.
Unfortunately, in these incidents, Schröder observed silence. Almost all foreign workers were thrown out of jobs without mentioning any reason in writing. Not a single case came up to claim that a German court offered any relief to a foreign skilled worker. Yet, the ongoing dynamics of German politics indicate that history may repeat itself to create this time, the Sin of Scholz.
Dr Qaisar Rashid
The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com