SPD's migration policy revolt triggers key resignation ahead of June conference
Aziz Bozkurt, chair of the SPD's Integration and Diversity Working Group, has resigned from his position. He criticised the party's current leadership for failing to uphold social democratic values in migration policy. His departure comes ahead of the federal conference at the end of June, where he will not seek re-election.
Bozkurt accused the SPD's leadership of treating migration policy as a bargaining tool rather than a principled stance. He claimed the party had surrendered its influence to the Interior Minister, allowing stricter measures to dominate. Since the Ampel coalition formed in 2021, the SPD's approach in the Bundesrat and state governments has grown more restrictive. This includes backing the EU's controversial asylum reform (GEAS), which Bozkurt called a 'low point' that sacrifices human rights.
He also condemned the party's lethargy, arguing it had stifled the SPD's vitality. Bozkurt contrasted this with the leadership of former chairs Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans, who he said had revived the party's social democratic identity. However, he lamented that their momentum had faded under their successors.
Among the stricter policies Bozkurt highlighted were plans to end the Afghanistan admission programme, suspend integration courses by 2026, and impose a two-year freeze on family reunifications for those with subsidiary protection. He argued these moves contradicted the SPD's traditional values.
Bozkurt's resignation marks a clear break with the SPD's current direction on immigration. His criticism underscores tensions within the party over its policy shifts since 2021. The federal conference at the end of June will now proceed without his candidacy for re-election.
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