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The theme of migration is polarising not only in Luxembourg, but also in many other European countries. How are political parties capitalising on this trend and what direction might it take? Political scientist Dr Uwe Jun from the University of Trier shares his insights.
In Germany, Dr Uwe Jun notes a certain sense of being overwhelmed within society, which is mainly being taken out on migration. More and more people are speaking out in favour of restrictions, which political parties naturally take up and will reflect in their discourse. But this also stretches beyond Germany; such tendencies can also be observed in Europe in general, Dr Jun says.
In Luxembourg, too, a coalition between the CSV and DP can be expected to result in more restrictive measures against the admission of refugees, the political scientist adds.
"The CSV's partner party in Germany, the CDU, is also clearly in favour of this. And the FDP, the German equivalent of the DP is also campaigning more restrictive solutions within the federal government."
It is precisely this political trend that is causing a lot of concern among organisations that deal with migration. There has been little support from the government as it is, says Marianne Donven, founder of the organisation "Oppent Haus", as when private individuals take in refugees in their homes, for example.
This harsher tone of recent weeks is also unsettling for refugees who have been in the country for some time and have all their papers in order. Donven has noticed this especially among the refugees who are employed in her restaurants and have asked whether their permits might be taken away after all. She also worries that aid organisations might find even more pressure on their shoulders, as refugees who cannot be accommodated in shelters will fall back on them. With stricter policies, this demand is only going to increase.
In her opinion, acceptance in society could be increased greatly if the refugees could get more directly involved, through work or training. This would enable them to learn the language more quickly and would therefore be integrated into society faster and better.
'For far too long, no attention has been paid to this; if this approach had been used earlier, we might not be in this tense situation today,' regrets Donven. In addition, the new government could quickly get a grip on the lack of staff in various areas and thus foster acceptance.
However, if integration does not happen and voters get the feeling that nothing is improving, the parties could lose their support, warns political scientist Dr Jun. However, election researchers cannot yet predict what the current trends could mean for the next elections, because voters generally make decisions based much more on current and personal experiences. However, if voters do not feel represented by the governing parties or feel that their opinions and values are no longer recognised, it is reason enough to vote for a different party at the next election.
Overall, the political scientist emphasises that we cannot speak of a general shift to the right, it depends from issue to issue. Society has long tended to be in favour of restrictive solutions, especially when it comes to migration, and this has become much more pronounced in Germany recently. In our neighbouring country, you can currently see that the parties are taking advantage of these tendencies by the fact that even governing parties such as the SPD or the Greens are now arguing less. Or the fact that SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz is openly in favour of more restrictive measures such as deportations.
At the moment, the trend across Europe is clearly pointing in the direction of a more restrictive migration policy. However, it is much more important for society to feel more stable and for it notice an improvement. And according to Marianne Donven, this could also be achieved through a better integration policy.
