It’s been sixty years since Germany set out on the long road to becoming a country of immigration – even if nobody wanted to admit it at the time. In October 1961, the Foreign Office and the Turkish Embassy regulated the recruitment of workers from Turkey on just two pages.
The agreement not only contributed to the economic miracle in the young Federal Republic. It has also made lasting changes to Germany. Today we know that without migrants, not only is our future prosperity at stake. Because nothing is as decisive for long-term growth potential as the number of employees. But they are also a great asset culturally, scientifically or economically.
The Russian-born pianist Igor Levit not only inspires the concert audience, but has also regularly raised his voice in the corona crisis. Without the Turkish-born founders Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin, Germany would not be where it is today in immunology and cancer research. And the fact that around every ninth member of the newly elected Bundestag has a migration background shows the diversity of the political landscape.
That wasn’t a given. Because mistakes have happened on the groping path to an immigration society. Max Frisch’s famous sentence “We called workers, and people came” stands for the failure to consider integration from the very beginning when migrating.
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The consequences of neglected integration policies can still be observed today
We are still concerned with the consequences today: In terms of educational success, on the job market, in social and political participation – citizens with a history of immigration are often behind. And a foreign-sounding name is unfortunately far too often the sole reason not to be invited to a job interview or a flat inspection in the first place.
The arrival of the refugees – first the “boat people” from Vietnam, later the people from the crumbling Yugoslavia, and finally the victims of war and poverty from Syria, Afghanistan or Africa – exacerbated the already widespread ideological charge of the migration debate. The left story of a peaceful “multicultural” society does not paint the whole picture, nor does the conservative warning against “foreign infiltration” or immigration into the social systems.
But this front position has for too long hindered the necessary debate about controlled immigration from states outside the European Union. In this respect, it is definitely a historic success that the Skilled Workers Immigration Act has been in force for a year and a half.
Unfortunately, it was only enough to reach a minimum compromise between the Union and the SPD, which at best makes Germany a light country for immigration. The hurdles for interested parties from abroad are still high, and there is no real welcoming culture.
Without migration, the prosperity and stability of the social systems cannot be secured
The challenges are no smaller today than they were in the 1960s. Because the aging of society is causing the potential workforce to shrink rapidly, prosperity and the stability of social systems cannot be secured without migration.
The Federal Statistical Office has just pointed out that the bottom line is that 480,000 people would have to immigrate every year if the expected decline in the working-age population by 2035 is to be compensated.
The government in London’s mistaken belief that it can get along without immigrants should not be sidelined in this country. The British are currently experiencing the consequences of such a policy at petrol stations.
But those who want to immigrate do not stand in line to come to the Federal Republic. Many European countries have long been struggling with demographic problems similar to those of Germany. Simply relying on the free movement of people in the EU will not be enough.
Internationally, however, Germany competes with other economic powers such as the USA or China in the search for skilled workers. The fact that the Federal Employment Agency is now trying to find nurses in Indonesia, 12,000 kilometers away, shows the urgency.
Sixty years after the recruitment agreement with Turkey, the future government should finally roll out the red carpet for migrants from abroad. In the last electoral term, the Greens and FDP proved with their own legislative proposals that they have creative ideas and sensible approaches.
The next coalition must show more courage in immigration policy than the Union and the SPD have done together. An immigration law worthy of the name should be high on the list of priorities. Here the FDP and the Greens could easily find intersections – and do the country a first great service.
More: Guest commentary by Düzen Tekkal and Johannes Vogel: We need more targeted immigration.