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Uncertainty grows among refugees and migrants as Germany heads to the polls
Berlin/Cottbus, Germany – Germany is preparing for high-stakes elections, amid fears that far-right sentiment rising while migration policies sit at the centre of political debate.
In Cottbus, a city in eastern Brandenburg, the mood is tense as voters prepare to head to the polls with the rest of Germany on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition government led by his Social Democratic Party (SPD) collapsed last November.
Outside the city centre, Jana Zistel, a German resident in Cottbus, is not sure which party to support, but is certain of her stance against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has skyrocketed in popularity among eastern cities.
“Yes, I know many people are big supporters of the AfD here, but I just don’t understand it. Germans, too, are foreigners in other places,” she told Al Jazeera.
Known for its anti-migration views, the group’s success marks the first time in decades that a far-right party in Germany has gained such popularity.
According to the latest polls, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is leading the polls, followed by AfD. Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) is in third place.
“The overall atmosphere is rather tense in Germany at the moment, and refugees do feel the changing attitude towards them,” said Judith Wiebke, a spokesperson for PRO ASYL, a German pro-immigration group.
Wiebke told Al Jazeera that fear in immigrant communities has been rising as the election nears.
“We get the feedback that in the Syrian community, there is new fear for their future in Germany, and the Afghan community [too,] is worried with regards to calls for regular deportation flights to Afghanistan,“ she said.
The firewall crumbles?
Migration is a contentious topic in the European Union, with leaders of the 27-member bloc often squabbling over how to implement a unified migration and asylum policy.
Germany has, however, maintained a relatively open-door policy for migrants. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel of the CDU/CSU party declared in 2015: “Wir schaffen das!” or “We can do it!” and welcomed hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers. But the CDU/CSU has since soured on immigration.
Chancellor Scholz’s government has, since 2022, eased the process of acquiring German residency and citizenship, easing the path for migrants and refugees and prompting criticism from political opponents.
CDU/CSU party leader Friedrich Merz called the policies “misguided”.
On the campaign trail, he blamed those policies for a recent spate of deadly attacks that has rocked the country and killed many people. In the latest case last week, a two-year-old girl and her mother were killed in Munich when a car rammed into a crowd. Nationals from Afghanistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia have been arrested for the killings.
In January, following one such attack, Merz proposed a non-binding resolution in the German Parliament to turn back more asylum seekers at the borders. It passed, but with the backing of the AfD. That shattered a seemingly impenetrable “firewall” policy that had seen parties refuse to work with the far right for decades.
Parliament narrowly rejected Merz’s binding version of the migration bill but shocked opposition leaders accused him in impassioned speeches of breaking the firewall. Even Merkel, the former chancellor who had otherwise been absent from politics, condemned her fellow CDU colleague. Thousands of people across Germany took to the streets in protest, calling for an AfD ban.
Scholz’s government, too, has begun stiffening asylum regulations. In August, 28 Afghans were deported. His government has also introduced land border checks, unusual in the EU.
The effects of these measures are already being felt.
Carolina Rehrmann, a parliamentary candidate of MERA25, an independent German political party, told Al Jazeera that there is a general climate of insecurity for immigrants in Germany that makes people not voice their opinions openly.
“They are being stigmatised and labelled as a collective threat, particularly by the far right,” she added.
Anything but the current government
Founded in 2013, the AfD first became popular with eurosceptics as it initially campaigned against the EU member states’ decision to bail out debt-ridden Greece – including Germany.
Then, in 2015, as waves of asylum seekers moved into Europe, AfD rhetoric swung to immigration, and the perceived dangers of Muslim migrants.
“Remigration” – a policy that would see mass deportations of immigrants and naturalised citizens; scrapping of the euro; and military conscription are some of the party’s major promises.
Led by Alice Weidel, the AfD’s stronghold is in eastern cities like Cottbus because of perceived economic inequalities between east and west Germany following reunification, which has left popular anger. The party also managed to tap into a young audience by maintaining a strong TikTok presence.
“It’s a protest vote because people are frustrated,” said Ines Heider, parliamentary candidate for the Revolutionary International Organisation (RIO), an independent group promising open borders and an end to weapons for Israel. German media calls the group “left extremist”.
“Zero percent of Germans want this present government to run again, and so they search for an alternative. The other day, I went to a strike of bus drivers, and one of them said to me, ‘I don’t really like the AfD, but I don’t really know who else to vote for,’” she said.
In January, AfD shocked the country when its regional branch in southwestern Karlsruhe city mailed more than 30,000 fake deportation tickets to migrants. The tickets, dated February 23, said a passenger by the name of “illegal immigrant” was booked on a one-way flight from Germany to a “safe country of origin.”
Marcel Bauer, The Left party’s parliamentary candidate in Karlsruhe, told Al Jazeera that people who received the tickets, ranging from Cameroonian to Syrian nationals, were devastated.
“There were grown men crying to me because they fear for their families after receiving these tickets,” Bauer, who has filed a lawsuit against AfD’s spokesperson in Karlsruhe, said. “For the far right, every migrant is a bad person,” he added.
The National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party) sent deportation train tickets to Jews before the second world war, Bauer said. Now, the AfD is using similar “fascist” methods, he added.
AfD did not respond to a request for comment. MP Marc Bernhard, the party’s Karlsruhe candidate, told German public broadcaster SWR that the distribution of the tickets was an election advertising stunt for everyone and was not specifically sent to people with “foreign-sounding names”.
Rarely do any of the parties, even the outgoing SPD-led coalition, highlight contributions of migrants to the German economy, allowing the AfD’s rhetoric to hold ground, said Marc Helbling, professor of political sociology at the University of Mannheim.
If foreigners were to all leave, Germany’s building and health sectors, among others, would simply stop working, Helbling said.
“From a purely economic perspective, it is clear that Germany, like any other Western countries, are very much dependent on migration,” he added.
Israel’s war on Gaza
Although thousands of kilometres away, the genocide in Gaza has cast a long shadow on the political discourse in Germany since the start of the war.
Berlin firmly stands by its ally Israel, justifying its solidarity based on historical feelings of guilt for the Holocaust. Germany has also been one of Israel’s most prolific weapon suppliers.
Rehrmann, the MERA25 candidate, said Germany’s current anti-immigration rhetoric is also tied to Israel’s war on Gaza.
“We have seen people coming from the Middle East [to Germany], being considered not only as a threat, but also the main source of anti-Semitism in Germany,” she said. “This is something that Merz and the far-right AfD have said.”
Some 100,000 people of Palestinian descent live in Germany, a quarter of them in Berlin’s Neukoelln district.
German police actively crack down on the weekly pro-Palestinian protests in Berlin and other cities while local media often tag the protests – as well as Arab or Muslim gatherings – as fertile grounds for anti-Semitism, a crime punishable by a two-year term or a fine.
Last November, in the wake of huge protests against Israel, the Bundestag adopted stricter definitions of anti-Semitism even as rights groups like Amnesty International, and a handful of MPs warned that could violate international law.
Police, in January, also banned all languages except German and English at pro-Palestine demonstrations. Officials cited increased crimes and anti-Semitism during the protests, but critics say it’s an attempt to target Arabic speakers.
Since the Gaza war started, Islamophobia in Germany has skyrocketed, according to rights monitoring group, Claim. Incidents, such as verbal attacks on Muslims or attacks on mosques, went up by 114 percent between 2022 and 2023, the organisation reported.
Hugh Williamson, a Human Rights Watch director based in Berlin, said the negative rhetoric, including blaming violence by individuals on entire groups, is concerning. He also warned that the adoption of more far-right policies by the mainstream parties is not the answer.
“While this may be intended to draw away support, we’ve seen time and time again in Europe that it has the opposite effect, normalising anti-rights politics and parties in ways that make it easier for voters to support them.”
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has sued his parents for millions of dollars, accusing them of siphoning large amounts of his money into financial accounts they managed for him and then using some of the cash to pay their own expenses.
Bohm’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Philadelphia court, comes after he began to review his personal and financial affairs in recent months, and said that his parents refused to give him access to the accounts or provide him with the information he sought about them.
They sought to “freeze” him out of four accounts — established as limited liability companies — and he now believes they “converted a sizeable amount” of his money from those accounts “to their own use,” the lawsuit said.
By the time he sought the information, his parents had already transferred millions of dollars from his personal accounts to the accounts they controlled, the lawsuit said.
Bohm’s parents, Daniel and Lisa Bohm, denied doing anything wrong and, through their lawyer, said they are “deeply saddened by the allegations” and will aggressively defend themselves. Alec Bohm has had full access to the accounts and his parents are paying his expenses on their personal credit cards, their lawyer, Robert Eckard, said in a statement.
“Mr. and Mrs. Bohm love their son very much and have always acted in his best interests, both personally and professionally, and still do so to this day,” Eckard said.
After Thursday’s 2026 season opening game, Bohm declined comment to reporters, saying “I’m not going to address any personal matters right now.”
Both parties say the first of the accounts was opened in 2019. His parents told him that they assigned themselves a 10% stake, strictly for administration purposes, and that Bohm was the “true” owner of all of the LLC’s assets, Bohm’s lawsuit said.
The accounts had various purposes, such as investing in securities or buying real estate. Bohm’s lawsuit also said they used money from The Alec Bohm Foundation to pay their expenses.
Bohm’s lawsuit asks his parents to pay at least $3 million in damages, hand over control of the accounts and hire an accountant to track every dollar they transferred from Bohm’s personal accounts to the accounts they controlled.
Bohm, 29, has a $10.2 million contract with the Phillies for the 2026 baseball season. The lawsuit said his parents live in a recreational vehicle and travel the country.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in France on Friday to attend the G7 foreign ministers meeting where he will deliver a clear message on U.S. priorities for the ongoing war with Iran.
In the days leading up to the meeting, other members have taken markedly different approaches to the war. Nearly all of Washington’s partners — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — have reacted cautiously to the U.S.-Israeli military campaign and declined to participate in offensive operations, even as they condemn Iranian actions.
Before departing on Thursday, Rubio signaled a defiant approach to the talks: “I don’t work for France or Germany or Japan… the people I’m interested in making happy are the people of the United States. I work for them,” he said in a video posted on X.
The divergence has drawn frustration from President Donald Trump, who has pressed allies to contribute more, particularly in securing key maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. While some countries have signaled a willingness to support defensive or maritime security efforts, they have stopped short of joining direct military strikes.
TRUMP PRESSES NATO PARTNERS ON SUPPORT AS HEGSETH BLASTS HESITATION
“The U.S. is constantly asked to help in wars and we have. But when we had a need, it didn’t get positive responses from NATO. A couple leaders said that Iran was not Europe’s war. Well, Ukraine isn’t our war, yet we’ve contributed more to that fight than anyone,” Rubio added.
“The Strait of Hormuz could be open tomorrow if Iran stops threatening global shipping, which is an outrage and a violation of international law. For all these countries that care about international law, they should be doing something about it,” he said before boarding his plane to France.
The remarks set the tone for a summit already marked by growing friction between Washington and some of its closest allies over how to handle the Iran conflict. Rubio has framed the stakes in stark terms. “Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years… Iran has been killing Americans and attacking Americans across this planet,” he said during a White House cabinet meeting, adding that allowing Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons would be “an unacceptable risk for the world.”
But even before Rubio arrived at the meeting, European officials were signaling a markedly different approach.
“We need to exit from the war, not escalate this further, because the consequences for everybody around the world are quite severe,” Vice President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas said during a briefing on the sidelines of the G7 on Thursday.
JACK KEANE CALLS OUT NATO’S WEAKNESS AS SHIPPING CRISIS GRIPS STRAIT OF HORMUZ
(L/R, clockwise) French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meet during the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 17, 2025 (LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)
“It can only be a diplomatic solution… sit down and negotiate to have a way out,” she added.
The contrast between Rubio’s framing and Kallas’s message captures the core tension shaping the meeting.
U.S. officials say Rubio is heading into the talks with a broader agenda that goes beyond Iran.
According to a State Department spokesperson, who spoke to Fox News Digital on background, Rubio will use the meeting to “advance key U.S. interests” and push discussions on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as “international burden sharing” and the overall effectiveness of the G7.
The U.S. is also expected to emphasize maritime security, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, while urging allies to take on a greater share of responsibilities in conflict zones and international organizations, the spokesperson said.
RUBIO, RATCLIFFE TO DELIVER CLASSIFIED IRAN BRIEFING TO ‘GANG OF EIGHT’ AHEAD OF TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before boarding a plane as he is headed to France where he will take part in the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 26, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool via Reuters)
European officials have instead emphasized the broader risks of the conflict.
France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said discussions at the G7 would build on a recent joint statement condemning Iran’s actions while also addressing maritime security concerns.
He said the “discussions will provide an opportunity to revisit positions already agreed at the G7 level… including the unjustifiable attacks carried out by Iran against Gulf countries… which we condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
Barrot added that ministers would also focus on securing global shipping routes.
A satellite image shows the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, vital for global energy supply. (Amanda Macias/Fox News Digital)
“We will also have the opportunity to address maritime security and freedom of navigation… including an international mission… to ensure the smooth flow of maritime traffic in a strictly defensive posture, thereby helping to ease pressure on energy prices,” he said.
Kallas echoed that global framing. “All the countries in the world are one way or another affected by this war… it is in the interest of everybody that this war stops,” she said.
IRAN SIGNALS NUCLEAR PROGRESS IN GENEVA AS TRUMP CALLS FOR FULL DISMANTLEMENT
Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy speaks to the press during EU Summit in Brussels, Belgium on Dec. 19, 2024. (Photo by Nicolas Landemard/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Her remarks also pointed to the interconnected nature of the crisis. “Russia is helping Iran with intelligence… and also supporting Iran now with drones,” she said, linking the Iran conflict to the war in Ukraine.
That uncertainty is already affecting the structure of the summit, with officials dropping plans for a unified final communiqué to avoid exposing divisions, Reuters reported.
Analysts say those differences reflect deeper structural tensions in the alliance. “Europe has criticized Donald Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ strategy towards Iran while pursuing a failed diplomatic approach that has enabled the regime to expand its terrorist networks and edge closer to nuclear threshold status,” Barak Seener, senior research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.
“This reflects a lack of European capability to project power in the region, particularly in safeguarding the Strait of Hormuz.”
FILE PHOTO: Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo)
Seener added that years of reliance on Washington have left Europe increasingly exposed as the U.S. shifts its strategic priorities. “Years of underinvestment in defense and reliance on the United States have created a dependency that Washington increasingly views as a betrayal of the peace it has guaranteed Europe since the Second World War,” he said.
“With the U.S. placing greater value on its relationship with Israel than NATO, the result may be further erosion of the alliance, reduced support for Ukraine and rising economic pressure on Europe.”
He warned that the immediate test will come at the G7 itself. “Divisions over how to respond to Iran and to any U.S. request for support are likely to expose a deeper transatlantic split,” Seener said.
“Operation Epic Fury has showcased President Trump’s ability to assemble a coalition of allies to eliminate a common threat — in this case the Iranian regime — and stabilize international trade,” Jacob Olidort, chief research officer and director of American security at the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital.
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A satellite view shows the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, on Oct. 2, 2024. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data via Getty Images)
“The failure of Western Europe to participate in securing the Strait of Hormuz is particularly egregious because those countries depend on it more than we do,” he added.
“At the same time, the historic successes of Operation Epic Fury have awakened a new confidence in our Middle East partners to eradicate the threats from the Iranian regime and to work together to shape a more peaceful and prosperous region.”
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On today’s show:
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Top story: G7 Summit debrief with Méabh Mc Mahon and Maia de la Baume.
Explainer by Jakub Janas: What’s the point of the G7 meeting?
Iran war update with Méabh Mc Mahon and Babak Kamiar.
Interview with Ghassan Salamé, Lebanese Culture Minister.
Interview with Valérie Hayer, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe, France).
When and where to watch Europe Today?
You can join Euronews’ chief anchor Méabh Mc Mahon and our EU editor Maria Tadeo live on TV and Euronews’ website and digital platforms every weekday.
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