Wagenknecht dares to make a radical migration move: Will there be a historic vote?

RUHR24 Wagenknecht dares to make a radical migration move: Will there be a historic vote? Julian Kaiser • 4 hours • 3 minutes reading time Sahra Wagenknecht is pushing ahead with a clear migration demand a few weeks before the 2025 federal election. But there is a problem. Berlin - Migration is one of the central campaign issues for the 2025 federal election. However, Friedrich Merz's "influx limitation law" failed in the Bundestag on Friday (January 31). Now the chairwoman of the alliance, Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), has called for a historic step on the migration issue - but there is a problem. Wagenknecht dares to make a radical migration move: Will there be a historic vote? In the run-up to the early federal election, Sahra Wagenknecht, as she confirmed in an exclusive interview with RUHR24, is taking a hard line on the migration issue: more deportations and fewer asylum procedures in this country should give Germany a "breathing space" in migration. This is what the BSW election manifesto says. In addition, Wagenknecht supports asylum procedures in third countries. After the Bundestag showdown on the migration issue at the end of January, Wagenknecht is now calling for a referendum on the future direction of German migration policy. The aim is to calm the tense social mood and to align the political course more closely with the wishes of the population. Before the 2025 federal election: Wagenknecht wants a referendum on the migration issue "For a migration policy that is supported by the majority of the population, a referendum is needed that gives the federal government the basic direction," Wagenknecht told the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP). Citizens should decide directly whether the number of migrants to Germany should be significantly reduced. Wagenknecht emphasized that immigration numbers must be significantly below the current level. As a reference, she cited the 2000s, when Germany often took in no more than 50,000 immigrants per year. "We have to go back to that, that would be bearable, especially if it were mostly women and children," she explained. How many asylum applications are submitted in Germany? In 2024, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) received 229,751 initial applications and 21,194 follow-up applications for asylum (as of January 2025). Compared to the previous year, the number of initial applications fell by 30.2 percent, and the number of follow-up applications fell by 7.0 percent. In 2023, a total of 351,915 asylum applications were submitted in Germany. Before the 2025 federal election: Wagenknecht wants to weaken the AfD thanks to a referendum In Wagenknecht's opinion, a referendum could also slow the rise of the AfD. "A referendum with a clear result, which politicians then have to implement, could also counteract the polarization in society, from which the AfD in particular benefits," said the party leader. At the same time, Wagenknecht accused the federal government of failing in migration policy. "For ten years, a loss of control over migration has been allowed, which the majority of people in Germany, including most well-integrated immigrants, do not want," she criticized (more political news at RUHR24). Before the 2025 federal election: Wagenknecht's referendum cannot be implemented legally She expressed doubts that a future federal government could achieve a "migration turnaround" without a fundamental change of course. "There is much to suggest that the next federal government will not be able to achieve a turnaround on migration as long as the SPD and the Greens refuse to do so," said Wagenknecht on Platform X. Although Wagenknecht is calling for a referendum, there is a legal hurdle standing in the way of this demand. In Germany, there is simply no legal basis for referendums or popular initiatives at the federal level. According to Article 29 of the Basic Law, such votes have so far only been permitted in the event of a reorganization of the federal states. Furthermore, there has not been a single such procedure in the history of the Federal Republic. Wagenknecht's demand on migration is in the context of the 2025 federal election Wagenknecht's demand must therefore be seen in the context of the shortened and hard-fought election campaign. Her party will be fighting with the five percent hurdle on February 23. According to the latest survey by the RTL/ntv Trendbarometer, the BSW currently only has 3 percent of the vote and would therefore miss out on a place in the Bundestag.