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CDU Politician Roland Koch against Dual Citizenship (January 15, 1999)

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Anyone who is seriously interested in workable solutions must be prepared to toss prejudices and untruths to the wind. He must rid himself of the traditional image of the “guest worker” who returns to his home country after a few years of employment in Germany. That is not the reality. We invited foreign workers to come here, and by now they have become fellow citizens who live here permanently.

Coexistence between foreigners and Germans is normal in our country. Germany is cosmopolitan and open to foreigners. Fellow citizens from abroad have found their niche in our society. It’s no longer possible to imagine many economic sectors without them. Fellow citizens from abroad have become part of our society and we support this. But we don’t want a system of first- and second-class citizens – some with more rights, some with fewer. According to the wishes of the red-green government, more than four million people would be entitled to “dual citizenship.” Eighty million Germans would not have this option.

We support the fair offer: anyone with a clean record who sees his life and his future in Germany, and who has lived here for a long time, can become a German citizen. But we expect integration, not a wishy-washy “both-and” situation. The will to integrate is necessary. It is not too much to demand good language competence. It is actually in the interest of the person who wants to become integrated into his new surroundings. The more the fellow citizen from abroad is willing to commit himself to the diverse cultural traditions that have characterized our country for centuries, the more likely this is to succeed.

Integration is not a one-way street. We need to show tolerance toward other religions, customs, and traditions. At the same time, however, we expect that people of non-German heritage who live here permanently will adapt to the lifestyle of a society shaped by the principles of the Christian West. Germany is open to having prayer rooms and religious buildings for non-Christian religions. But in Germany we want to continue to hear church bells ringing, not muezzins calling people to prayer.

Anyone who supports integration must ease the process of naturalization. It is necessary to continue removing bureaucratic obstacles [to naturalization] and, above all, to reduce the waiting period for naturalization to eight years. It is especially important to simplify the process for the younger generation: Children of foreign nationals should – if the parents wish – receive a “guarantee of naturalization” at birth. If they give up their foreign citizenship later on, they will automatically become German citizens.

The plans of the new federal government, however, aim to force general “dual citizenship” on Germany. Evidently, the red-green government has already lost its footing after only a few weeks in power. Therefore, with this signature campaign, the Union [CDU/CSU] will bring the SPD and the Greens back down to earth. The Hessian CDU will also turn the state parliamentary elections on February 7 [1999] into a referendum on the issue of general “dual citizenship.”



Source: Roland Koch, “Der Wille zur Integration ist nötig” [“The Will to Integrate is Necessary”], Die Welt, January 15, 1999.

Translation: Allison Brown

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