"As the 51 percent election of Kramp-Karrenbauer on Friday showed, the CDU is deeply split over this issue and lacks the strength to formulate an effective migration policy. Conservative members of the CDU have been quitting the party in droves, and this will only strengthen the AfD," Bystron said.
"The CDU/CSU will attempt to dupe conservative voters concerned about illegal immigration with security theatre. Their planned law regarding secure countries of origin will hardly make a dent in the hundreds of thousands of illegals who have no legitimate reason to be in Germany. The minister of the interior appointed by the CSU, Horst Seehofer, notoriously stages law-and-order measures before elections," Dr. Weyel said.
The lawmaker stressed that fewer conservative voters would fall for such tricks than ever before.
READ MORE: New German CDU Leader Intends to Overhaul State's Migration Policy
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who was elected to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel as party leader last week, said on Sunday that she intended to review the country's liberal migration policies, adding that the party’s campaign during the 2019 European Parliament elections would be based on these potential changes. Kramp-Karrenbauer received 517 out of 999 votes cast by delegates, while her rival, Friedrich Merz, got 482 votes.
Real Changes in Germany's Migration Policy Unlikely
Dr. Anton Friesen, a member of the Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs from the AfD, told Sputnik that he did not expect any significant changes in the German migration policy.
"In my point of view, there will be no profound change with Merkel and AKK [Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer]. Not only in the matter of migration, but in any political field. The upcoming EU election will be a disaster for CDU/CSU and their coalition partner SPD [Social Democratic Party of Germany]. Discussions about migration will only help our party because we are the only real alternative on this issue," Dr. Friesen said.
The same point of view was shared by Dr. Weyel, who claimed that the CDU was unable to make any real changes to the country’s migration policy and was limited to symbolic actions.
"The CDU is incapable of meaningfully changing German migration policy, and may at most implement a few symbolic measures such as analyzing data from illegal immigrants' smartphones while leaving the borders wide open," Dr. Weyel said.
READ MORE: Merkel Steps Down as Party Leader: 'CDU Are Playing Democracy' — AfD MP
Bystron, in turn, shared the opinion expressed by the two other lawmakers, saying that Kramp-Karrenbauer was expected to agree with Merkel’s policies and, given the fact that Merkel will remain Germany’s chancellor until 2022, there would be no decisive changes in Germany’s open border policy.
Outcomes of 2019 European Parliament Election
"The European Parliament elections will be a landslide for the new national, conservative parties in Europe, who want responsible politics for their people, not for the internationalist elites," Bystron said.
Dr. Weyel told Sputnik that many patriotic parties throughout Europe would achieve their best results in the elections to the European Parliament in 2019.
"My colleagues from the AfD will join forces with like-minded representatives to pull the emergency brakes on the worst EU measures, which include aiding and abetting human traffickers on Europe's coast," the lawmaker said.
Dr. Friesen expressed assurances that the AfD would at least double its result in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament in comparison with the 2014 vote, which showed the party won seven seats in European vote as a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists.
"The success for us will be primarily symbolic. Nevertheless, we get stronger and stronger. The established parties have to recognize this development," the lawmaker said.
READ MORE: Berlin Needs Mechanism to Track Recipients of Financial Aid Sent to Syria — AfD
Dr. Friesen highlighted that that the European Union should be reformed to fulfil its core functions, including safe borders and prosperity.
The European Parliament election is scheduled for May 23-26, 2019.
Since the "open borders policy" was announced, Germany has accepted more than 1 million migrants from the Middle East and Northern Africa, Merkel's government has been criticized for failing to effectively handle the migrant influx.
Views and opinions expressed in the article are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
