German chancellor faces mounting backlash over migration comments
A senior member of Friedrich Merz's party joined the growing criticism of the German chancellor on Tuesday over comments on migration, which opponents have characterized as dangerous.
Merz rose to power on a pledge to see off the challenge of the far-right Alternative for Germany by addressing their voters' concerns, but is under fire over his response last week to a reporter's question about AfD's anti-migration policies, News.Az reports citing Reuters.
Merz said his government was working to correct the failures of previous governments but that there was still a problem "in our cityscapes", a remark widely seen as appearing to link the changing ethnic composition of German cities with crime.
"Friedrich Merz is no longer shouting banter from the sidelines," said Dennis Radtke, a senior member of Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
"As chancellor he has a particular responsibility for social cohesion, debating culture and creating positive future narratives," said Radtke, who is a member of the European Parliament and head of the conservatives' social affairs caucus.
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