From Welcoming to Wary Changes in the SPD's Rhetoric on The
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Fr om Welcomi ng t o Wary: The SPD's Rhetoric on the Flüchtlingspolitik Jun gbi n L i m Abstract: This paper traces the response of the Social The party asserted that refugees have a right to Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) to the European a safer and bet t er fut ure i n Europe and t hat migrant crisis in the fall of 2015. In particular, I explore the change in the party's position, which initially had pledged Germany has a responsibility to provide refuge full support of the admission of refugees to Germany but to victims of war. Some party members even toned down its support over the course of the fall. I discuss suggested that the inflow of refugees would this development against the backdrop of the rightward shift benefit the German economy. However, over the of the SPD. I argue that a possible explanation of the change month of September, the party changed. in the SPD's position is the decision of Chancellor Merkel, leader of the rival party Christian Democratic Union, to Presumably influenced by CDU leader and grant admission to hundreds of thousands of refugees on German Chancellor Angela Merkel?s momentous September 5th, 2015. Mainly based on the SPD's own decision on September 4 to open Germany?s publications and media coverage of the party's activities, this doors to refugees stranded elsewhere in Europe, paper examines the shift in the language of the SPD. the SPD has become increasingly wary of Since its inception in the mid-nineteenth admitting a large number of refugees, even century, the Social Democratic Party of though the number of refugees that have Germany (SPD) has represented the ent ered Germany so far t hi s year does not di ffer working-class and the German left at large. much from the number predicted by party After the West German Communist Party was leaders months before. In this paper, written in banned in 1956, the SPD became the sole party November 2015, I argue that, in September 2015, in the Federal Republic on the left for nearly the SPD changed its rhetoric on the refugee three decades before other leftist parties policy (Flüchtlingspolitik) from welcoming to ent ered t he pol i t i cal scene i n t he earl y 1980s. wary, which stemmed at least in part from the This included the Green Party (established in SPD?s? especially party chairman Sigmar 1983) and the Party of Democratic Socialism Gabriel?s? political maneuver to take over the (established in 1990). However, the SPD has center. Since this paper analyzes an ongoing been inching to the center since the 1990s? the phenomenon, it faces the challenge of studying SPD and the center-right Christian Democratic a limited perspective of a historical event that is Union (CDU) are now almost indistinguishable still unfolding. Nevertheless, the value of the on several policies. In light of such paper lies primarily in the documentation of development of the SPD, the party?s responses changes among the Social Democrats, especially to the current migrant crisis, which has become in the context of the party?s long-term a very controversial topic in German politics evol ut i on. si nce August 2015, i l l ust rat es t he SPD?s Through a survey of German rightward shift. From the outset of the Syrian newspapers? namely, Frankfurter Allgemeine Civil War in 2011 to the first week of Zeitung (heretofore FAZ), Der Spiegel, and Die September 2015, the SPD strongly supported Zeit?I trace the SPD?s rhetoric and the response admitting hundreds of thousands of refugees. RICE HISTORICAL REVIEW 37 FROM WELCOMING TO WARY of the media to it. A reason behind the acknowledged the ever-growing challenge of preponderance of newspapers is simply the absorbing nearly a million refugees, but the dearth of secondary literature. Given how SPD emphasized the humanitarian cause of the recent the change in policy took place, few Flüchtlingspolitik throughout the conference, non-media sources exist. Other non-German suggest i ng t hat ref ugees l egi t i mat el y deser ve media sources include the Associated Press, help.1 On the same day, the SPD website Politico, the New York Times, and St er n. The released another article, titled American Institute for Contemporary German ?SPD- Resol ut i on: Flüchtlingspolitik in St udi es, German Politics and Society, the Journal Germany,? that covered the same press of Refugee Studies, and the Migrant Policy conference i n more dept h.2 Again, refugees Institute are non- newspaper sources of were described as people in need who have a information on the SPD?s history and the right to European assistance: German political landscape. Lastly, the SPD website and Facebook page provided "[refugees] seek statements released directly by the party. The freedom and party?s Facebook page proved particularly useful. Since Facebook posts are normally brief, secur i t y, t h ey h ope they serve as one of the most direct forms of to be able to live in a better contact between the party and the public, and they often represent the core of the party?s soci et y, i n wh i ch j ust i ce an d messages. For this reason, while only two solidarity are real. The sources in the paper come from the SPD refugees count on our Facebook page, Facebook played a crucial role in the research process. fundamental values!? Before the first week of September 2015, in Notably, the SPD left economic migrants out which Merkel announced her decision to of the picture and instead argued that it is only suspend European Uni on (EU) asyl um rul es and right that Germany should lift refugees out of allow refugees stranded in other EU countries misery. In framing the issue in terms of to enter Germany, the SPD enthusiastically freedom and justice, the SPD assumed a risk: supported admitting refugees, even though once they described refugee?s claims to asylum many of the party leaders recognized the as l egi t i mat e, any act i on l ess t han ful l challenge of a large influx. The SPD website accommodation of refugees would be seen as demonstrates the party?s support of the reneging on earlier promises of delivering admission of refugees. The website published justice. Later in the article, the SPD positioned an article on the press conference of SPD itself as a counterforce to ?isolation and leaders on August 31, in which Malu Dreyer, deterrence? (Abschottung und Abschreckung) the Minister-president of Rheinland-Pfalz, and that the Social Democrats ascribed to the Martin Schulz, the President of the European political right. Germany was ?not only Parliament, discussed where the party stands economically strong, but also formed of great on the Flüchtlingspolitik. Dreyer and Schulz humanity? (Mitmenschlichkeit). focused on three tasks: ?humane admittance of The SPD leadership?s optimistic stance in refugees, social cohesion of Germany, and the last week of August is representative of the united European politics.? On the whole, they line that the party had been treading for the called for more help for local communities in past several months. Party Chairman Sigmar order to implement a ?humane refugee policy,? Gabriel was quoted on the SPD Facebook page while exhorting the CDU to ?at last undertake on August 19th as saying ?we will accomplish responsibility.? Dreyer and Schultz 38 RICESPRING HISTORICAL 2016 REVIEW 39 JUNGBIN LIM it? (wir werden das schaffen) on the Merkel?s position and the ?The Boat is Full? Flüchtlingspolitik.3 Considering the criticism (Das Boot Ist Voll) slogan used to characterize Merkel received over the past two months for the position of the Christian Social Union of her optimistic slogan We will do it (Wir Schaffen Bavaria (CSU), the more-conservative sister Das), from which even the SPD distanced. This party of the CDU, which calls for restrictions on did not deter Gabriel?s own assurance that the number of refugees. Gabriel and Steinmeier Germany ?will accomplish it,? which evinced st ressed t hat st at es and communi t i es are the enthusiasm with which the SPD supported overburdened by the vast number of refugees the admission of refugees. On August 9, the and demanded t hat Germany have ?an honest Ger man weekl y St er n reported on the meeting discussion about realistic capabilities? between Gabriel and filmmaker Til Schweiger. (Gestaltungmöglichkeiten).6 The latter had received both positive and negative attention in the media for his active The word ?realism,? support of ref ugees, as wel l as for t i rades hardly used before agai nst t hose who demanded severe restrictions on the number of incoming Sep t em b er , n o w refugees.4 Given Schweiger?s reputation as a charact erizes t he current st rong support er of t he admi ssi on of ref ugees, this meeting sent a sign of approval. Gabr i el vacillation of the SPD. presumably made a statement on where he When the CSU and PEGIDA (an anti-Islamic, st ands on t he Fl ücht l i ngspol i t i k t hrough t he far-right movement that has been staging meeting (which both Gabriel and Schweiger demonstrations in major cities since late 2014) publicized on their Facebook pages). All in all, support ers i nsi st t hat Germany i s not capabl e two points have to be emphasized on the SPD?s of accommodating the large influx of refugees, stance up to September.