German right-wing party calls for ‘negative immigration’ of 200,000 people per year
The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party called for the country to get rid of at least 200,000 more people a year than it takes in, as it faces a plunge in its popularity before elections this autumn.
The target for “negative immigration” (“Minuszuwanderung”) would be necessary for several years, according to a draft election programme the AfD released on Thursday, although it did not specify whether the quota would be met by migrants leaving voluntarily, by deportation or both.
At the same time, the co-leader of the AfD said he was not alarmed about plunging support in polls. Its support has dropped to between 8 and 11 per cent from a high of 15.5 per cent at the end of 2016.
“The falling poll numbers ... doesn’t worry me in the least,” AfD co-leader Joerg Meuthen said. “Okay, they’re down now - that’s happened several times before and the key thing is how we’re doing at the time of the election, and I think we’re on top there - especially due to this programme.”
We’re a party in which certain things are not accepted and that includes National Socialist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic and racist positions
He added he was not concerned about a reduction in the number of migrants arriving here hitting the party’s popularity because the AfD also had strong positions on other issues such as taxes, defence, health policy and housing policy.