SPD district councils in Thuringia only want to grant social benefits from non-EU countries as a loan. Greens and the left are horrified.
Erfurt – It was a bit of defeat for the SPD in the eastern federal state: In the state elections in Thuringia on September 1, 2014, the Social Democrats reached just 6.1 percent and thus pulled the weakest force behind left, BSW, CDU and AfD narrowly into the state parliament. No wonder that the party is looking for the political deep.
The latest idea comes from the two Thuringian district administrators Matthias Jendricke and Marko Wolfram: Social benefits for adult asylum seekers, recognized refugees and foreigners from non-EU countries are to be paid out as interest-free loans in the future. “We finally need a real will to reform in Berlin politics and no dust around an increasingly dysfunctional system,” said the Nordhäuser District Administrator Jendricke Stern. “Anyone who comes into our country and has not paid anything here can only get social benefits as a interest -free loan.”
Thuringian SPD state councils want to help as a loan: CDU politician Amthor openly for this
The reactions are expected to be different. CDU politician Philipp Amthor is not averse to this, at least “this idea has a certain charm,” said the parliamentary State Secretary in the Digital Ministry WELT TV. Although he still noted that the proposal replenished a number of legal questions. “But I find the basic idea interesting.” In contrast, the left, which sharply criticized the suggestions.
“Anyone who wants to grant the subsistence minimum as debt does not act social, but shabby and follow the racist mood of the AfD,” said the migration policy spokeswoman Katharina König-Preuss. She also warned of a debt trap for those affected. “After their arrival in Germany, many refugees must not work legally because they are refused to work for months or even years.”
SPD head of state criticizes proposal as “immature”
Pro asylum complained, the proposal suggests that people only flee to Germany because of social benefits. “However, this trivialized crises and wars as well as political and religious persecution in the countries of origin,” criticized the refugee aid organization and also reported constitutional concerns. “If you want to get refugees to work faster, you should reduce administrative hurdles.”
The Greens were also outraged: “The proposal is a forced debt of the poorest of society, which is also supposed to work as a collective debt into an entire family,” said Thuringian state spokesman Luis Schäfer. And the comrades from the SPD? Country chief Georg Maier called the proposal “unconditional in terms of content”. (with dpa)
date: 2025-08-16 03:05:00