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Scroll.in
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Talented Indians thought they could make Germany home, but many want to move on now
Germany is at the cross-roads of a 'migration ambivalence'. To address its labour shortage and demographic deficits, Germany is increasingly positioning itself as a hub for global talent for highly skilled migrants. This puts Indians from STEM fields, research, academia and healthcare at the top of the chart. However, growing anti-migrant sentiment fuelled by the rising popularity of the far right party, Alternative für Deutschland or AfD, does little to help Germany project a pro-migrant image for Germany. While much of the focus of the country's migrant policy has been on attracting talent and settling it in, more attention must be paid to retaining it. Through my ethnographic research with Indian migrants that culminated in a monograph Stories of the Indian Immigrant Communities in Germany: Why Move?, I have focussed extensively on why Indian migrants are increasingly choosing Germany as an immigration destination. Indians are currently the seventh-largest migrant group in Germany and the only immigrant community from outside Europe dominated by highly skilled, highly qualified migrants. Between 2010 and 2020, the total number of Indians in Germany (57.6% are white-collar immigrants) has increased from 42,000 to 1,59,000. In addition, the number of Indian students joining German universities has gone up approximately from 25,149 in 2022 to 33,753 in 2024. Since then, I have followed the trajectories and movements of these migrants. I have found that many are uncertain about choosing Germany as a long-term home. Given the growing anti-migrant political situation in Germany, many Indian migrants who arrived with strong credentials, secure jobs and aspirations for a better life are now strongly considering onward migration. 'My husband and I are confused at the moment,' one woman said. 'We both have good jobs, but our daughter already feels out of place. Her classmates tease her about her dark hair and skin. None of her classmates look like her, and it makes her feel ugly. Is this really the place where we want her to grow up?' This is not an isolated experience. The rise of the growing popularity of the AfD has cast a shadow over a pro-migrant image that Germany has tried cultivating in the last few years, specifically anchored on the European Union's Blue Card Scheme that offers work and residence permits, Skilled Migration Act 2020 to make immigration easier for highly trained workers and and MoU with India in 2022 to facilitate mobility for students and professionals. Structural and everyday racism and a systematic denial of the existence of racism in mainstream German society impact how migrants perceive their long-term futures. One of my key participants summarised this for me. 'Despite my highly paid job, I face racism in the metro, on the streets,' this person said. 'Germany is not the only Western country where racism exists, but here, if you speak about it, you're told off and called over-sensitive. My white colleagues simply don't believe me.' The lack of occupational upward mobility is part of the spectrum of discrimination. As my book observed, Germany offers a strong entry-point for early career professionals. But Indian global talent as people of colour still find it hard to be hired to positions of authority, decision making and those that require access to and management of finances within organisations. While the rise of the AfD has increased discrimination that Indian migrants experience, the arrival of the far-right in the mainstream political system in Germany has also opened a conversation on racism that otherwise remains shoved under the carpet. Will Germany continue to remain a corridor to global migration for these highly qualified Indians or will these Indians choose Germany as their home? As Germany is dealing with a long-term demographic challenge (an aging population and declining birth rates), it must treat existing migrants as future citizens, not just temporary labour solutions. Such an attitudinal shift is required not only towards skilled migrants but to the subject of migration at large because Indians as skilled migrants cannot live in silos while migration as a subject continues to be perceived as a crisis. However, not all Indian migrants – especially not Hindus – feel equally targeted by the growing anti-migrant temperaments. Some view themselves as 'model migrants', distanced from the perceived troublesome 'others'. 'Indians are good migrants,' said one participant in my research. 'We work hard, we don't rely on unemployment benefits, our children are well educated. I don't think the AfD wants us out. They want to deport the trouble-making Arab migrants. We are responsible citizens.' The political common sense is that the AfD is only against the Muslim refugees while most Indian skilled migrants in Germany are Hindu and often upper-caste migrants (having access to monetary and other resources through social privilege across generations). Self-identification as model migrants also exposes the intrinsic communal and casteist perceptions and othering that Indians carry outside their home country and implant into race and colour frameworks in the diaspora. Such framings ignore the broader dynamics of racism, which predominantly operates on presumptions and perceptions, based on appearance and skin colour. Contrary to what a few Indians choose to believe, the AfD has been fairly clear in its political positions that it intends to deport all people of what is popularly termed as 'migration background' – and this includes the Indians, including those identifying as model migrants. In light of this, Germany must have a long-term plan to create micro-level awareness against anti-migrant sentiments. If it intends to continue competing for global talent, a skilled labour migration pathway that majority of the industrially developed countries are increasingly exploring, it should shift its focus from attracting immigrants to retaining them. Without such shifts in migration policy, migration ambivalence will continue to dampen Germany's skilled migration pathways.
Local Germany
3 days ago
- Politics
- Local Germany
OPINION: If Germany is to thrive it must help foreigners feel they belong here
What felt personal at first, we came to understand as part of something much deeper. Despite our earnest efforts to battle through German grammar, to enjoy woody white asparagus and to watch Tatort (still hoping and waiting for a good episode), the feeling of belonging here in our adopted homeland remained elusive. We've been here for more than three decades combined, and as journalists our job is to get to know the country – in many cases better than natives. In some ways, we have been eingedeutscht (Germanised): drinking Radler and sparkling water, and occasionally reporting cars for false parking (this is indeed one of Chris's pastimes). We have kids here and so have learned about Germany also through the experience of Hebammen, Kitas , and other parents. READ ALSO: 'Weeks of wild uncertainty' - The stress of choosing the right school in Germany But the feeling of being a guest – or as Germans might say a Fremdkörper (foreign object) – persists, despite the country's claims of offering a Willkommenskultur. When we started writing a book about Germany, we realised it's not just a subjective personal experience. It points to a deeper void at the heart of modern Germany. The initial goal of writing " Broken Republik " was to cover the cracks in the German economy, but that quickly expanded to political fragmentation and then internal divisions and racism. And we concluded that the red thread that ran through these issues was a national identity still unresolved. Postwar Germany is supported mainly by two pillars: shared prosperity ( Wohlstand für alle ) and the self-righteousness of having overcome Nazism. For decades, the formula held up well enough. Germany became a global industrial power on the back of sleek cars, and instead of parades and fireworks, it showcased Holocaust guilt. But the structure is showing foreboding cracks. Advertisement The economy has contracted two years in a row, inequality is worse than almost anywhere else in Europe, and the social safety net is fraying. With living standards at risk, trust in mainstream parties is falling and support for the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and its ethno-nationalist vision of Germany is rising (on par with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc, which has also adopted anti-migrant rhetoric). READ ALSO: How is Germany's future government planning to shake up immigration? That leaves the country vulnerable. Without a robust and inclusive civic identity, 'blood and soil' concepts re-emerge and fill the void. That process has started, but it doesn't have to continue. Despite all of its issues, Germany still functions and has a strong foundation. It's still the third-largest economy in the world. Its cities hum with energy, creativity, and layered history. From the North Sea coast to Alpine peaks, its landscapes offer stillness and awe. Advertisement Life here can be rich and full: walking home through tree-lined streets, swimming in a lake on a summer evening, sharing food and language in unexpected places. The culture stretches across centuries and continents — from Bach to Berlin club nights, Bauhaus to Turkish-German poetry, Syrian bakeries to Vietnamese corner shops. READ ALSO: Seven unmissable events happening around Germany in June 2025 This is a place where people can build lives, raise children and grow old. But belonging is still too often conditional. People walk along the river banks in Frankfurt. Why can't long-term residents in Germany vote? Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Andreas Arnold Germany makes it hard for newcomers. And if your skin colour is dark or you struggle with der, die, das, your pathways to belonging are even rockier. Even then, it's an either/or process. You are either all German or you're an Ausländer . And even then, it can be capricious. Members of the 2014 World Cup-winning squad, like Mesut Özil, have voiced this frustration: German when they win, foreign when they lose. The migration-background victims of the Hanau far-right shooting in 2020 struggled for official recognition and national mourning. These moments reveal a painful truth — that for millions, full belonging remains elusive, even in life and death. That has to change — not out of charity, but because the country's future depends on it. A society where millions feel unseen cannot remain cohesive. A democracy that excludes cannot stay strong. If Germany wants to thrive — economically, culturally, politically — it needs to open up not just its labour market or borders, but its idea of who truly belongs. Advertisement We've discovered that this is a foreign concept for Germans. They struggle to understand the alienation that the country produces because they don't know it any other way. But Wahldeutsche do. We have an important role to play here. We are part of the story but come with a different perspective. We don't need to just adapt and integrate. We can also form and shape. In a moment when the far right seeks to define who matters, silence is no longer a neutral act — it's surrender. Postwar Germany may have been unable to face these issues, but a new era is dawning. And the country's greatest challenge may also be its greatest chance: a new German nationhood built on inclusion. Because a Germany that sees identity as a layered yet cohesive whole – like a Black Forest cake – might yet become a homeland for all, and more dynamic than ever. Chris Reiter, originally from the US, is a senior editor at Bloomberg News in Berlin . Will Wilkes, originally from the UK, is automotive and industrial correspondent for Bloomberg News in Frankfurt. Follow these links to get more information about Broken Republik (Bloomsbury) and to purchase a copy. For information in German: Totally Kaputt (Piper Verlag).
Spectator
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
How English are you really?
I've struggled to ascertain from afar the true nature of Germany's Alternative für Deutschland. Progressive media love to quote its supporters' politically off-key comments, but no party can answer for a membership's every daft remark; even the odd dodgy politician comes with the territory. Yet the country's two mainstream but increasingly unpopular parties – a disenchantment Brits will recognise – portray the AfD as chocka with swastika-waving Nazis building scale models of Treblinka in their basements.
The Hill
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Cotton asks Gabbard not to share intel with Germany that can be used against far-right party
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) asked the director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to refrain from sharing intelligence with Germany's domestic intelligence agency days after the Berlin's spy arm labeled the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) as an 'extremist' political party. Cotton requested that, until Germany treats the AfD as a 'legitimate opposition party' and not as a 'right-wing extremist organization,' Gabbard should direct the U.S. intelligence agencies to halt sharing intelligence with the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). He also asked that Gabbard deny Berlin's potential requests to assist in surveilling the AfD and review if intelligence agencies during former President Biden's administration 'cooperated with German requests to surveil the AfD or other opposition parties.' 'Rather than trying to undermine the AfD using the tools of authoritarian states, Germany's incoming government might be better advised to consider why the AfD continues to gain electoral ground and how German's government can address the reasonable concerns of its citizens,' Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote in a 2-page Monday letter to Gabbard, which was made public on Wednesday. The Hill has reached out to ODNI's office for comment. The Arkansas Republican asked that Gabbard alert the Senate about anything she uncovers in the requested review. Cotton's request comes less than a week after BfV marked the AfD, the party that won the second most votes in Germany's recent election, as an extremist entity that represents a threat to democracy. The designation came shortly after BfV's three-year investigation found that AfD is breaching 'fundamental principles' of the constitution. Now, Germany's spy agency is allowed to increase surveillance and oversight of the political party. 'Central to our assessment is the ethnically and ancestrally defined concept of the people that shapes the AfD, which devalues entire segments of the population in Germany and violates their human dignity,' BfV said, adding that the 'concept is reflected in the party's overall anti-migrant and anti-Muslim stance.' The move received strong pushback from the top Trump officials over the weekend. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also now serves as national security adviser, slammed the spy agency and claimed that the development does not equal 'democracy—it's tyranny in disguise.' 'What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment's deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes,' Rubio said on Friday, urging Germany to 'reverse course.' Vice President Vance, who met with party leader Alice Weidel in February, praised the AfD as the 'most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it.' 'The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt—not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment,' Vance said on Saturday. Germany's foreign ministry pushed back on Rubio's statement, arguing the decision came after a 'thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law.' 'It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped,' the office added on social media platform X.
Newsweek
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Germany's AfD Party Looks to Capitalize on Shock Vote
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Germany's surging far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, whose official designation as extremist has been rebuked by the White House, called for a snap election following a surprise parliamentary defeat for the country's conservative leader. AfD's co-leader Alice Weidel said her party is "ready for the responsibility of government" after Friedrich Merz initially fell six votes short of being named chancellor—Germany's leader—in a first round of voting on Tuesday. He was later elected chancellor. AfD has been making big gains recently, particularly in former East Germany. It finished second in federal elections in February, giving it 151 out of 630 Bundestag seats, and last month topped a major national poll for the first time. Yet Germany's main parties have traditionally refused to work with the party, something the AfD and senior members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration have railed against. It was designated a right-wing extremist group by German intelligence officials last week, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Nazis' defeat in World War II. That moves gives authorities more powers to monitor the AfD, including via phone tapping and spies. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "tyranny in disguise, while Vice President JD Vance accused "the German establishment" of effectively rebuilding the Berlin Wall. Why It Matters Merz's embarrassing first-round defeat is unprecedented in modern German history. It also casts serious doubts on his ability to lead a united government, following the collapse of the previous administration late last year and suggests Germany's traditional main parties are struggling to hold a united front to keep out an increasingly popular AfD. Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, gives a press statement in Berlin on May 5. Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, gives a press statement in Berlin on May To Know After the collapse of Germany's previous government, led by Olaf Scholz, Merz had emerged as the likely chancellor following the election on February 23. But at 52 percent, Scholz's coalition government, which includes his conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), holds one of the country's slimmest parliamentary majorities since World War II. While his coalition appeared to have enough votes, it seems that 18 members of parliament (MPs) expected to back him dissented in the secret ballot. Merz, chairman of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), needed 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot in Germany's lower house of parliament, but only got 310 votes on Tuesday. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner told MPs that nine of the 630 MPs were absent, three abstained and another ballot paper was declared invalid. It is the first time in Germany's postwar history that a presumed chancellor has failed to be elected following successful coalition negotiations. But Weidel called for Merz to resign and for a new election. Elon Musk, key adviser to Trump, reshared on his X, formerly Twitter, platform a video post of Weidel reacting to the initial defeat for Merz. Weidel said after the AfD's election success in February that Musk had called her and "congratulated me personally" on receiving 20.8 percent of the vote. Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, designating AfD an "extremist" organization on Friday. "The ethnicity- and ancestry-based understanding of the people prevailing within the party is incompatible with the free democratic order," the agency said at the time. AfD launched a lawsuit against the decision on Monday. "With our lawsuit, we are sending a clear signal against the abuse of state power to combat and exclude the opposition," Weidel and co-party leader Tino Chrupalla said, calling it a bid to "distort democratic competition and delegitimise millions of votes." Friedrich Merz is shown at the plenary hall for the continuation of a session at the Bundestag on May 6, where he failed to secure the role of chancellor in the first vote. Friedrich Merz is shown at the plenary hall for the continuation of a session at the Bundestag on May 6, where he failed to secure the role of chancellor in the first vote. RALF HIRSCHBERGER The designation was denounced by Vance, who said the AfD was "by far the most representative" party in the formerly communist eastern Germany. In April, the AfD topped a major poll for the first time, showing growing unhappiness in Germany at mainstream parties. The Ipsos survey put the AfD at 25 percent, ahead of the 24 percent support for Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc. Markus Böckenförde, professor of constitutional and public law at Central European University in Budapest, told Newsweek that Merz's failure to secure the votes necessary delivered a "shock wave" to German politics. Given the secrecy of the ballot, he said, there will be speculation about why Merz did not get the support he was expecting. It comes amid a sensitive debate on how to get policies through without the support of the AfD, Böckenförde said. He described it as a "yellow card" for Merz, who has been given the message not to follow the kind of path he had taken in preparation of this coalition government. What People Are Saying Weidel, on Tuesday: "Merz should step aside and the way should be cleared for a general are ready to take on responsibility in government." AfD representative Bernd Baumann, in a speech shortly before the second vote: "This government starts out in extreme instability," adding, "And it will remain unstable. That is the opposite of what Germany needs." Rubio on Friday posted to X after the AfD was designated "extremist": "Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That's not democracy — it's tyranny in disguise." What Happens Next Germany's next federal elections for the Bundestag parliament are scheduled to take place before March 26, 2029, so long as the new coalition does not collapse before then.
