Opinion: CDU Goes Multicultural

Germany's Christian Democrats want more diversity and believe more Muslims in their party will make the Union more open. Volker Wagener believes there is a lot of self-interest involved in this mini-revolution.

The German integration debate can be very wearing: So predictable in its announcements, generally so politically correct in its thrust, and thus so phoney. We are treated to sermons about "welcoming culture," words in praise of a "mixed society," and calls for "diversity." All well and good, and all along the right lines. Now, though, the CDU wants draw the line under rosy-eyed discussions about integration.



Setting the trend in immigration policy?



The integration debate is to be replaced by a modern immigration policy. This is tantamount to a thrust reversal when compared with the conservatives' old self-image. The Greens have a chairman called Özdemir, the Social Democrats a general secretary called Fahimi – now the Christian Democrats want to open up as well. From now on, multiculturalism will no longer be something that has been imposed upon them by the political left. The CDU wants to present itself as ethnically mixed, too. This is a cultural revolution – or a mini-revolution, at the very least.



Just four years ago a leading conservative politician tried to make Germans aware of certain realities. "Islam belongs to Germany," the then German president, Christian Wulff, declared. There were no ifs or buts, and he chose to make his statement on German Unity Day. However, he encountered more resistance from the CDU than from any other party.



Since then, his statement has long since ceased to be provocative. Merkel can now build on the acknowledgement and certainty that Islam is part of everyday life as it is lived in Germany, and she is able to give substance to the never-ending debate on immigration.



The economy needs qualified migrants



The CDU understood long ago that the defensive position it had previously adopted on immigration policy is ancient history. Migrants were an economic necessity in the old federal republic, and still are now, for demographic reasons. It's certainly true that industry and the middle classes still have reservations when confronted with an application form bearing a non-German name; but in the world of globalized competition no sector can afford to make decisions based on an applicant's ethnic origin. It all comes down to facts: a sound knowledge of German, expertise in the natural sciences, and practical IT knowledge. What the conservatives want to do is to integrate those who have these competencies.



In this respect, there is still something ornamental about the current "welcoming culture." A business graduate of Turkish origin whose family have lived in Germany for three generations is still more likely to become the integration officer in a company rather than the chief financial officer. For years, people like this had no professional alternatives. Now, though, German Turks are finding qualified positions in Istanbul and Ankara - and we need them here.



By 2050 Germany will need far more qualified employees to offset its declining population. It will be impossible to achieve this without well-qualified migrants. The CDU is clearly alarmed, and is trying to mediate better integration. It needs to do this, because social climbers from the middle classes are concerned about their status.



Not just altruistic



Merkel's immigration incentive is not only the right one: Self-interest plays just as great a role. The CDU finds it difficult knowing how to deal with Germany's immigrant population. For years it complacently regarded them as guests, a term that always carried the hint of an unspoken time limit. "Social diversity" and other such Sunday-sermon terminology constituted political elements to the left of the Union. Compared to the Social Democrats and the Greens, Merkel's CDU is only modestly attractive to migrants. This is dangerous for its majority appeal in a country where one in five people now have foreign roots. It is the reason why not just Germany but especially the CDU, as the biggest political party, needs to change and open up – and it has just made a start.