The article discusses the voting rights of residents in Germany, focusing on the approximately 10 million residents who cannot vote due to lack of German citizenship. Activist Phil Butland shares his experiences with these restrictions, describing the paradox of living and contributing to society without the ability to participate in elections. Recent amendments to citizenship laws aim to attract skilled workers and address labor shortages, potentially changing the political landscape by enabling more residents to gain voting rights.
'For a long time my permanent residence has been Germany, my life has been in Germany, everything I do is in Germany and it was a bit of an anomaly not to be able to take part in elections there,' Butland told DW.
'They have relaxed the rules now but if you don't have a job or you have a low-paying job the rules are still a lot harder than if you've got a well-paying job there. There is exclusion of poor people in most of these rules,' he said.
The German government eased its rules around the granting of citizenship in January 2024, in an attempt to make Germany more attractive to skilled workers internationally and help to ease labor shortages.
'the people vote' ('das Volk wahlt'). But who are 'the people'?
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