Bavarian CSU's stance on Ukrainian refugees sparks coalition outrage

The Bavarian CSU party, also known as the Christian Social Union, is demanding that war refugees from Ukraine be sent back to their homeland if they do not take up employment in Germany, writes "Deutsche Welle". The other coalition partners of the German government are aghast.

“After more than two years since the start of the war, the rule must apply: take up work in Germany or return to the safe areas of western Ukraine,” said Alexander Dobrindt, leader of the CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, quoted by "Deutsche Welle" to "Bild am Sonntag". The portal writes that the Bavarian CSU has adopted the slogan: "Unemployed Ukrainians go home".

The other coalition partners of the German government heavily criticise the behaviour of the CSU. SPD parliamentary club vice-chairman Dirk Wiese told the newspaper that Russian President Vladimir Putin continually orders bombings throughout Ukraine.

“Dobrindt now wants to send back women and children who may have already lost fathers on the front. CSU (i.e., Christian Social Union) should be ashamed of such demands and once and for all remove the letter 'C' denoting Christian values from its name,” persuaded Wiese.

Meanwhile, the co-chair of the Green Party, Omid Nouripour, noted that the "insinuations that Ukrainians come to us because of benefits do not take into account the horror of Putin's war".

Nouripour also rejected the CDU and CSU party proposals not to grant Ukrainians citizen's benefits immediately, but to first direct them to the usual asylum procedure. “Of course, we need to employ Ukrainians even faster,” he told "Bild".

“But new legal hurdles, like those the CDU wants, will not help with this and will even hurt,” he added.

Currently, about 700 thousand Ukrainians, mainly children, receive so-called citizen's benefits in Germany. At the same time, there is a growing wave of criticism in Germany regarding the level of support provided to refugees from Ukraine.

Some German politicians are against this, including Bijan Djir-Sarai, the general secretary of the liberal FDP.

“Newly arrived war refugees from Ukraine should no longer receive citizen's benefits, but instead should be subject to the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act,” said Bijan Djir-Sarai some time ago in an interview with "Bild", suggesting it would force more Ukrainians to seek work.

He also noted a labour shortage in Germany, especially in the catering and construction industries or the care sector. According to him, the German government should not use tax money to "finance unemployment."

“We should rather ensure that these people find work,” said the German politician.