"Cityscape" dispute: SPD calls for summit in the Chancellery

After his initial "cityscape" statement, Chancellor Merz first doubled down and then added more specifics. That's not enough, according to the SPD.

In the ongoing debate about increased security in public spaces, the SPD is calling for a summit meeting at the Chancellery. SPD Bundestag member Adis Ahmetovic, who, along with nine other members of parliament, drafted an eight-point plan for the "cityscape" debate, told the "Bild" newspaper: "I expect the Chancellor to bring together representatives from major cities, municipal associations, and the parliamentary groups for a 'cityscape' summit, like the steel or automobile summit."

The CDU/CSU sees no need for this. "The Chancellor has clearly identified the problem; further discussion is unnecessary," parliamentary group manager Steffen Bilger told Bild. "The broad majority of the population, as well as many SPD state premiers, district administrators, and mayors, already share a very good understanding of what the Chancellor spoke about," the CDU politician emphasized. However, the CDU/CSU remains open to discussions with the SPD about an even more consistent domestic policy at any time.

In their plan "for a social, safe, and solidarity-based cityscape," the group of SPD representatives wrote: "Difficulties in the cityscape have diverse causes: social injustice, housing shortages, neglect of public spaces, a lack of social infrastructure, and inadequate prevention." Those who narrow the debate to asylum, refugees, and migration are hindering solutions. The authors suggested that the coalition agree on a common understanding of the "cityscape" by the end of the year. "Whether in the coalition committee or a working group – clarity is needed in this debate now. For all the people in our cities," the paper states.

SPD parliamentary group manager Dirk Wiese supports the group's concerns. "The 8-point plan was a contribution to the debate by members of our parliamentary group, which aimed to objectify the 'cityscape' discussion and not narrow it down to the topic of migration. I explicitly share this goal," Wiese told Bild. He emphasized: "This indeed requires a coherent concept. We should work on that."

The CDU/CSU parliamentary group's domestic policy spokesperson, Alexander Throm, criticized the SPD parliamentary group's paper in the newspaper, saying it ignored the issues that actually concern people.

The debate was triggered by a statement by Merz on October 14. He said the federal government was correcting past shortcomings in migration policy and making progress, "but of course we still have this problem in the cityscape, and that's why the Federal Minister of the Interior is now in the process of enabling and carrying out returns on a very large scale." Later, when asked about this, he said: "Ask your daughters what I could have meant by that."