The Essen board and Sahra Wagenknecht

http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/linken-politikerin-wagenknecht-viele-probleme-haben-sich.694.de.html?dram:article_id=411581

Stephanie Rohde: Only those who have a German passport will be picked up at the Tafel in Essen, non-Germans have no chance anymore. The Essen Tafel justified this with the fact that now 75 percent of the needy migrants. Especially elderly users of the table as well as single mothers would have felt quelled by the quote from many foreign-language young men, as the panel leaders in Essen explained. However, many can not understand that, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and the umbrella organization of the panels have already distanced themselves and also from the federal government comes criticism. Social Affairs Minister Katarina Barley of the SPD says neediness must be the measure, not the passport. I talked about this broadcast with Sahra Wagenknecht, she is the leader of the Left in the German Bundestag.
And my first question was: Ms. Wagenknecht, you have often pleaded not to neglect the concerns and needs of locals. So does the Essen board do it all right?
Sahra Wagenknecht: Well, at least I find the excitement over it hypocritical. Because there are problems on the boards, you know that for a long time. There are problems, of course, because of course very, many more people now depend on these services, and there are also rations on other boards. And what I find really fatal, and I think it should be primarily upset and, above all, think about how to change it, that even in a country that is as rich as Germany, a quarrel may ensue over it, who now has access to expired food. So the really monstrous thing is how many people, the elderly, retirees or the unemployed, people with very, very low wages are even instructed to get such benefits. And …
"Significant pension increases would also be a solution"
Rohde: But still back to the question: Is that right or wrong, what makes the table food?
Wagenknecht: I think it's wrong to overload the boards in this way. And I mean, the federal government made the decision back then to take in a lot of people, and they did not care how the consequences are to be done so that they are not at the expense of the poorest and the poorer. And it is precisely those who, so to speak, rely on the tablets ... who depend on them to get their food there, are the very poorest. And that's why you have to do everything so that there are no distribution conflicts. And I think it would be a lot better, instead of the fact that now also by the Federal Government the Essener Tafel is scolded, that you might even think about why so many retirees have to eat today at the table. A significant pension increase would certainly be a solution, then people would not even go there.
Rohde: Is it even about the question of capacity or is it simply pure racism that expresses itself?
Wagenknecht: Well I know of very dedicated people who work at the boards and who are anything but racists, but who do that because they want to help people, that they have been complaining for a long time - not just a month or two ago that they have limited possibilities because simply the food supply was not increased as much as the demand. And of course, when I have more and more demand, but I can not distribute more food, then I have a problem, because that means: all who ask, get less, even those who were there before. And that naturally stirs up bad mood and that also fuels anger. And in that sense, I see many, who are really far from having any resentment, see that there are significant problems in this area. And now that this is escalating in one place, I wish for them to tackle these issues, instead of conducting a moralized debate that does not take anyone further.
Rohde: So if people do not get food because of their background, is not that racist in your opinion?
Wagenknecht: Well, I think that no one in Germany may be in the situation that he does not get food, so that's unbelievable that one is even brought into such a situation. But I want people who live in Germany, some of whom have been living here for a long time, who have often paid contributions in the rule that have worked here, that are not brought into such a competitive situation. And if they do not have to go to the tables anymore, because they improve their situation significantly, that would be a logical consequence of the whole thing!
"Grist on the mill of the AfD"
Rohde: This could be interpreted as meaning that Germans hunger and thirst are more important than hunger and thirst of migrants. Would you agree with that?
Wagenknecht: No, I do not think so. But I think you should not instrumentalize this debate at all in this direction. And, of course, there is such a problem at all, water on the mills of parties like the AfD, which of course instrumentalize in their direction, which of course now try to foment xenophobia as well. But really responsible are just those who allow such conflicts, and that is primarily the federal government itself.
Rohde: You said you should not allow instrumentalization. You yourself are accused in your own party, on the left, that you want to favor locals partially or at least have expressed favorable. Did not you promote exactly this conflict in the past?
Wagenknecht: No, it's not all about preference, it's about the fact that not just those who are not feeling well anyway are now burdened by immigration. And that is the consequence of the policy of the Federal Government. That is not the responsibility of the refugees, but it is the responsibility of the policy that has taken in, set the course so that many people could come, and does not care how now the problems associated with it are solved. There are the panels one part, there are many others, there are congested schools, there are housing problems. There are very, very many problems that have become more acute, also due to the refugee crisis. And the federal government just goes on as if nothing had happened, leaves the communities alone, leaves the panels alone. And now she gets upset when such a conflict occurs in one place, and I find that hypocritical.
Rohde: Of course, the Federal Government sees that differently. Nevertheless, I would like to talk about it a little bit more: in your own party, the party leadership clearly states that we are pursuing a refugee-friendly course, we want open borders, we want to shelter people in need, even if more people come to Germany. This means that the panels are also visited by a majority of refugees who need help. So what position does the left represent there?
Wagenknecht: We hold the position that people who are politically persecuted are of course entitled to asylum, a right to asylum. But we do not think that it ... For either Germany or the countries of origin, we think it is not good to promote labor migration. So on the one hand, in the countries where people come from, it is above all the better educated middle class, which migrates, that is to the detriment of the poorest, they do not come, they can not. And we also have no interest in that in the low-wage sector in Germany even more competition exists and the companies so to speak, the workers and the workers can better play off against each other, because then they still have people who also due to their personal situation for even worse Wages work. That does not make sense, and we do not support it.
"90 percent of refugees live near their home"
Rohde: Then who is the clientele of the left? The needy locals or migrants?
Wagenknecht: Of course we are committed to the people who are doing badly, who are also the losers of politics in recent years. And we want a global economic order that prevents people from being driven out of their homes. For example, we also see when we talk about refugees, just ten percent of all refugees worldwide make it to the developed countries, 90 percent live near their home, which are mostly left completely alone. We want to help there, above all we want ...
Rohde: That's a typical CDU position you represent.
Wagenknecht: What I have just described is not a CDU position, but is the reality. So 90 percent of people just live there. And if it were the CDU position, then I wonder why, for example, Mrs. Merkel has also cut the German transfers to the UNHCR, for example in the run-up to the great wave of refugees. That was one of the reasons why so many people came to Europe from the bordering countries of Syria because they got the most miserable conditions there. Or we can now see how the war in Syria escalates in a terrible way, also through the intervention of Turkey. Turkey is our ally, German tanks murder there and of course people then displace people, create refugees, create streams of refugees. And I think that if you really want to do something so that not so many people flee to Europe, you should finally stop providing weapons in such conflicts, and also make a clear commitment to our allies to stop escalating wars ,
Rohde: But we are still talking about the refugees who are already in Germany. Bernd Riexinger, your party colleague, said the refugees of today are the workers of tomorrow. Can the Left actually afford to bail out the future clientele of migrants?
Wagenknecht: That's a pretty simple position. First of all, we wish that everyone who lives in Germany also has a chance to find work, which is currently a big problem. After all, most of the refugees who have fled to Germany in the most recent phase do not have any jobs, but have great difficulty in arriving at the labor market. And it's also not our position that it's all about getting as many people as possible to Germany, that's very clear, can not be a leftist position. Because, you have to ... You can only help as many people as you have infrastructure and capacities.
"We have to prevent parallel worlds from emerging"
Rohde: But that was not part of your party program!
Wagenknecht: Well, that's just the normal and reasonable common sense that you can not help people, where you can not guarantee the help, it's not served anyone, ...
Rohde: So the rest of your party is unreasonable?
Wagenknecht: It is not useful to anyone if integration does not work. We must prevent parallel worlds emerge, we must prevent, also in the interest of those who come to Germany, that xenophobia escalates. And of course it is true that if you talk to people today who have immigrated earlier, it is by no means the case that they are now supporting that there is a lot more immigration. Because, in many cases they are also employed in the low-wage sector, and they are also affected when wage pressure increases there, living in the residential areas where they want rents to rise even more. This is a very simple position, to believe that especially in the milieus high immigration would be advocated.
Rohde: So the assessment of Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the Left in the Bundestag. We recorded this interview before the show.
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