Has Germany reached the limits of its so-called “welcome culture?” A new poll shows a large majority of Germans reject the left-wing government’s immigration policy, with more than two-thirds of respondents (68.3 percent) saying they were concerned about the increasing numbers of asylum seekers.
The Insa poll, commissioned by Bild newspaper, shows that only 23.5 percent of respondents have a “relaxed” view of the immigration numbers facing the country.
[pp id=57346]
Despite growing opposition to mass immigration, the left-wing government is pursuing a number of initiatives to open the country to up to 500,000 migrants per year, relaxing citizenship laws, and a general amnesty that could see 2 million illegal immigrants become citizens overnight. The country has already taken in over 1.2 million migrants in 2022 alone, which led 12 out of 16 federal states in October to halt all refugee intake due to overburdened schools, housing, and daycare.
The poll also showed that few Germans believe that the country needs more immigration. Only 16.3 percent stated that the country is benefitting from current immigration. Another 31.4 percent said that the advantages and disadvantages canceled each other out for the country. However, half of respondents, 48.4 percent, said they feared that Germany would take a turn for the worse due to current immigration levels.
[pp id=52824]
The overwhelmingly negative poll comes at a time when Germany’s population reaches 84 million, making it one of the most densely populated countries on Earth. Recent high-profile murders, such as the stabbing murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl by an Eritrean migrant in the town of Illerkirchberg, has reignited a debate about the security risks of continued mass immigration.
Respondents to the poll appeared to be especially skeptical of immigration from Muslim countries. Almost half of respondents said it was “rather bad” when immigrants from Islamic countries come to Germany, and only a paltry 16 percent said it was a good thing. About a third said they did not care either way if immigrants came from Muslim countries.
