German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has admitted that his remarks about migration affecting the appearance of German cities may not have been entirely appropriate.
“Maybe I should have said exactly what I meant earlier. Okay, I would have said it differently today“, Merz told ARD television. He noted that there are cities in the country “that are completely abandoned“. “That has something to do with what I said. And we have to change that“, the Chancellor explained.
“That's why I always say that these are two parts of the same answer. We need migration, we need immigration, we need the entire medical field, the healthcare sector and many other areas“, the German prime minister stressed. Without those coming from other countries, “it simply wouldn't work“.
“And if you criticize that, then you are right that maybe I didn't interpret it enough. But I think that anyone who has even tried to understand this a little bit has understood what I meant. And it has nothing to do with appearance. Absolutely nothing to do with it“, the German chancellor concluded.
On October 14, Merz said that the German authorities were correcting previous mistakes in migration policy and had “made significant progress with migration“. He added, however, that “the problem is still there in the appearance of German cities“. On October 20, the Chancellor refused to answer the question of what exactly he meant, but recommended that those asking the question turn to their daughters to get, as he claimed, "a fairly clear and precise answer." Merz's statements provoked condemnation and criticism from both politicians and the public. Many considered his words "racist and discriminatory," and protests were held in some German cities against the Chancellor's statements.