"A threat to women": Özdemir points to problems in migrant communities

Unlike many Greens, Özdemir, the lead candidate for Baden-Württemberg, sees problems in migrant communities. In the urban planning debate, he would like to see less simplistic arguments. He is also dissatisfied with Chancellor Merz's role.

The Green Party's lead candidate in the Baden-Württemberg state election, Cem Özdemir, sees problems for people with a migration background just as they do in migrant communities. "There are migrant communities where archaic and patriarchal structures are entrenched, which are a particular threat to women," he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), referring to the "cityscape" debate sparked by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "But there are also places in Germany—especially in parts of eastern Germany—where people with a migration background feel unsafe because they don't look like they're voting directly for the Vikings. I would like us to fight every kind of restriction of freedom and self-determination with the utmost vigor—with the goal that everyone can feel safe anywhere in Germany at any time, in Zwickau just as much as around Frankfurt's main train station."

What's disturbing about the whole debate, the Green Party politician emphasized, is "that it's being conducted in such a simplistic way." "Some are turning a blind eye and pretending we don't have a problem at all, while on the other hand, we have people who give the impression that people with a migration background are responsible for every problem in this country. Neither approach helps. We have to address the problems themselves. And as a trained social worker, I know: lectures don't stand a chance against experience. So, if people feel unsafe in public spaces, then we have to take care of it. And that means across party lines, if we don't want to lose even more people to the AfD. This also includes addressing toxic masculinity and phenomena like crime as a 'lifestyle'."

At the same time, Özdemir criticized Merz. "A chancellor shouldn't act as if he's just a passive observer. He leads the country. And when he simply describes problems without offering solutions, it's practically an invitation: 'It seems only the AfD is responsible anymore.' And this statement has led to people feeling addressed whom Mr. Merz later had to say he hadn't meant: people we urgently need in our country, people who are willing to get involved."