"After visiting a war-ravaged suburb of Damascus, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul declared that Syrian refugees cannot safely return home. "Hardly anyone can live here with dignity," he said. On Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz countered: "The civil war in Syria is over. There is no longer any reason for asylum in Germany, and therefore we can begin repatriations" a pointed remark delivered in Wadephul's own hometown of Husum on Germany's North Sea coast."
"The Chancellor's remarks landed like a public reprimand of his party colleague, even as Merz sought to play it down. He pointed out that Wadephul had toured an especially devastated area of Damascus suggesting that the Foreign Minister's judgement may have been clouded by emotion. It took several days for the Foreign Minister to clarify his position: he still backs the deportation of Syrian criminals and supports voluntary returns. But by then, the political fallout had already taken hold."
"In a parliamentary group meeting, Wadephul reportedly remarked that Syria looked worse than postwar Germany. According to attendees, the comment further isolated him within the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The AfD factor By that point, Wadephul was already facing mounting criticism from within the conservative ranks."
Germany's leadership is split over whether Syrian refugees can safely return. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, after touring a devastated Damascus suburb, said hardly anyone can live there with dignity and warned returns are unsafe. Chancellor Friedrich Merz countered that the civil war is over, there is no longer grounds for asylum, and repatriations can begin. Merz suggested Wadephul may have been influenced by emotion from visiting especially devastated areas. Wadephul clarified he supports deportation of criminal Syrians and voluntary returns. Conservative colleagues and CDU state leaders urged swift repatriations amid pressure from the far-right.
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