Very interesting times ahead for Germany

Do we have any way of knowing if anyone claiming asylum in Europe is a criminal? No

Are the fingerprints of asylum seekers checked against criminal databases? No

Ukraine has offered citizenship to foreign fighters too and we have over 100,000 Ukrainians already in Ireland who may be criminals because there is no criminal checks on them.

But let’s turn this into a Russophobia rant.

How very socialist of them.

This was bound to happen eventually to one of the larger European countries. Germany are far down the road of mass immigration, push back was always going to happen and imo we need much more of it. In many ways brexit was a form of push back against the large scale demographic changes they have seen over the last 25 years too.

Also, when we look at what is happening to Hungary for not accepting migrants against their will, it raises some serious questions about the road the EU is on.

Thank you, probably the most informative post I've read here in a long time. I must dig into the topic further.

You only have a problem with criminals entering the EU if they are Russian.
Most of the migrants “flooding” into Europe in your words are from countries illegally invaded or destabilised by the west such as Iraq, Afghanistan Syria, Yemen, Libya but really it’s all Hungary’s fault.

@thomil very interesting stuff about East Germany/DDR and the AfD. You could be dropping pearls before swine on this thread though (possibly incl. myself in that!).

There is no attitude IMO. One should not make agreements and promises and expect to wipe your backside with it afterwards consequence free. Maybe arrogant and powerful and wealthy people go through life like that (like Hungary's wannabe dictator, and his party) but I don't think it is a good thing. The court and the EU letting Hungary get away with it would be a slap in the face to the rest of us.

On the "mighty Icelandic people" and their backbones, Iceland is in the EEA, Iceland is in NATO too (latter would go down a treat here I am sure). I don't think they will leave either of these. It's not out there swashbuckling bravely and sovereignly in the big bad world as people like you dream of Ireland doing in future, after exiting the EU. Also I think the rest of the EU/EEA trade area lumped together may be our biggest export* destination and trade partner. Leaving the EU is unlikely to be good for it. Ireexit may not have a very positive effect on Ireland's role as a US trade/investment hub in Europe either. Just throwing that out there. (*believe they are not technically "exports" as such, it is all one free frade area)

Every second AfD voter in Thuringia and Saxony voted for the party because they believe in its message, according to data from infratest dimap for ARD.

What’s more, voters in both states, according to surveys, said the AfD would be best placed to represent the interests of people in eastern Germany and to pursue better asylum and refugee policies. On other issues too, including on social protection and fighting crime, the party ranked among the top two parties in terms of voters’ trust.

In sum, it looks increasingly like the AfD has entrenched itself in the East and has become what Germans call a Volkspartei , or “people’s party,” a title that was, until recently, reserved for mainstream parties like the SPD and CDU.

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-eastern-elections-afd-far-right-olaf-scholz/

Hungary had a referendum on joining the EU, so the people had their say then and voted to join by a considerable margin.

By voting to join they were voting to accept all pre-existing EU policies warts and all.

Its not Left vs Right anymore, its Nativist vs Globalist.

You do realize Nativism leads to increased isolation, division, conflict and a natural consequence of these is conflict, war, death and destruction.

Any ideas why the 'Nativists' never were motivated in acting to make their town/county/region/country better through their own acts rather than just claiming they care about those places and the people within it when they are pointing at foreigners to blame for everything.

Not to mention but the end result of Capatilism is Globalism before you think you can blame the Left for everything without being challenged.

"Something will break politically"

A prophecy isn't much use when it refers to something that has already happened a thousand times over. Migration has been a source of contention, division and political overhaul for centuries. The "Right" has already risen and fallen and risen again many times over (just like the Left). And no, I'm not talking about Hitler or Mussolini specifically — but also the comparatively moderate manifestations of the Right in recent years like the Brexiteers, Trumpism, Meloni etc. Algerian migrants were massacred on the streets of Paris in 1961 and in more recent years, rightist Sarkozy took harsh measures to expel Roma gypsies, bulldoze their camps, and more or less pursued a narrative of emnifying the people of the Parisian banlieues.

We have seen it all before. The Right comes to power, succeeds here and fails there — then the Left rises and follows the same pattern. The one thing that hasn't changed of course is that despite many manifestations of Right politics in the West, immigration continues to be a growing feature of the globalised economy and the Right doesn't tend to actually ever do anything about that.

You're missing the big thing about the demographic. It's in the east of Germany. In the West they have very little support. making it a right/left divide is a bit of an over simplification.

Hungary can vote to leave the EU if they wish. But they want the benefits and none of the responsibilities.

Also - see our top 10 trading partners. Our exports to EU partners are almost as much as to US and UK combined

These issues in Germany and elsewhere have been forseen years ago:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/22/hillary-clinton-europe-must-curb-immigration-stop-populists-trump-brexit

Curb doesn't mean stop. Few people are actually "anti-immigration". It always comes down the people wanting numbers which can integrate successfully.

The east of Germany isn't used to immigration in the same way the west was, given its Col War history as a fenced-off country with a suspicion of western influences.

Even countries with traditionally open immigration policies like Canada, are now questioning this policy, when increased numbers seem unsustainable:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-justin-trudeaus-legacy-will-be-destroying-the-canadian-consensus-on/

https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/justin-trudeau-immigration-policy-jason-kenney

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-crackdown-temporary-foreign-workers-1.7304819

Great to see Hungary now threatening to bus any asylum seekers that enter, directly to Brussels. Wish we had that kind of leadership here.

Not really when all the main parties are for it. And the alternatives carry too much baggage and other off the wall policies.

I’m politically homeless atm, FG, FF, SF and Greens are all virtually the same on immigration. And I couldn’t vote for the hard right parties. I am in favour of managed immigration but believe it should not be an EU matter but national government matter, I don’t think the current asylum system is working. Skilled people from anywhere in the world who are needed here yes, asylum scammers no way.

You don't have a choice, just the illusion of choice. If it makes you feel any better that you have a say, good for you.

If you were to ask an Irish person 25 years if they were happy with the current 2024 state of the country in terms of:

Pride in the nation, Education,Housing, Safety and Crime, Optimism in the future of the country…

The would be shocked at where we are at and yet despite voting for what they considered the best policies, here we are with a country that is a shell of its former self...

Not there an amount of this influencer through information technology but the vast amount of the change in this country is guided by an almost invisible hand shaping our future.

It is not the man on the street

It's not bigger than Japan's economy

It’s naive to believe that every foreign mercenary fighting for Ukraine is motivated solely by a love of freedom and democracy or that murderers and rapists aren’t fighting for Ukraine.
But then some believe that Zelensky said “I need ammunition not a ride” and that Simon Harris laid a wreath on the tomb of the heroes of Snake Island and presented the freedom of Dublin to Stepan Tarabalka.

The rise of anti war parties in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The realisation by European taxpayers and voters that Ukraine is being prioritised over them, like the UK scrapping winter fuel payments to pensioners while committing €3 billion a year to Ukraine forever should be a wake up call.