ELECTIONS IN BRANDENBURG: Dietmar Woidke (SPD) criticizes citizen’s allowance for Ukrainians

The number of unemployed recipients of citizens' benefit has increased in Brandenburg, and this is triggering calls in the CDU's election campaign for the end of this benefit. Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke also advocates changes, especially when it comes to citizen's money for Ukrainian war refugees. There are many more Ukrainians working in other EU countries than in Germany. During the election campaign, Dietmar Woidke is refraining from appearing with the Chancellor and apparently prefers to keep his distance from the unpopular traffic lights in Berlin. Now Brandenburg's SPD Prime Minister is taking a step away from the federal SPD and is questioning the citizen's benefit for Ukrainians: "The decision was right at the time because we had to help quickly. Today we have to ask ourselves whether this form of support is still up-to-date.” There are many more people from Ukraine in work in other EU countries than in Germany – that has to change, says Woidke. The statements are a swipe at his party colleague, SPD Labor Minister Heil, whose “job turbo” for refugees has not yet ignited. Ukrainians receive citizenship money immediately after arriving in Germany; In the spring, only around a quarter of employable Ukrainians were in work. The FDP and the Union have long been calling for citizens' benefits for Ukrainians to be canceled and for a different system to be used. After the Woidke initiative, the CDU hopes to gain insight from the SPD. “What we have experienced in the past is that the Greens and the SPD in particular are far removed from the political reality of people in Germany . And that's why I certainly hope that there could be a process of change in the SPD. Every sensible person should basically see that things cannot stay the way they are.” However, the Chancellor had previously emphasized that he wanted to stick to citizen benefits for Ukrainians, but the pressure is growing and is now also coming from his own party. Dorothea Schupelius here in Berlin: This is an interesting development in citizen's money for Ukrainian war refugees. In any case, Dietmar Woidke wants change. How do you rate that ? Is the entire SPD gradually changing course on this issue? The likelihood that Dietmar Woidke's statements are more of an election campaign maneuver is very high. The SPD was the party that always criticized the loudest when the CDU commented on changes to citizens' benefits regarding Ukrainian refugees. At the time it was said that it was populist nonsense and that the CDU should be ashamed. The whole thing was even called inhumane and outrageous by Rolf Mützenich from the SPD. Woidke is under enormous pressure because the elections are imminent and the AfD is very strong in the East. That's why Dietmar Woidke will definitely leave no stone unturned to convince a few voters to maybe vote for him and the SPD. So it's election campaign maneuvering, you say quite clearly. Nevertheless, his statements are also a swipe, for example at his party colleague SPD Labor Minister Hubertus Heil. So this could become a conflagration, including perhaps a dispute within the entire SPD or at least a discussion about the topic? This is a very important point, because the likelihood that other comrades will join in with Dietmar Woidke's demand is very low. The Chancellor himself, an SPD politician, has always spoken out clearly against it. Dietmar Woidke has tied his political career and his political future to this election result. He has said that if the AfD were to lead his SPD in Brandenburg after the September elections, he would resign. He said in a very defiant, childish way: "Then I'm gone, that's it." That means that for him it's really about the whole thing now, it's about everything. That means he knows what bothers the voter, he knows what the voter wants. Citizens' money is a big issue here, so he will also be prepared to accept a dispute within his own ranks or be prepared to distance himself from the more unpopular politicians and from the less popular political lines of the SPD. But Dietmar Woidke has one factual point: There are actually more Ukrainians in work in other EU countries than here in Germany. Why is that? Why works not that with us? Is it citizen's money? Let's look at the numbers, they really speak for themselves. There were around 17,000 Ukrainians who lived on state aid before the war broke out. This number rose to 700,000 within just a year, and for a year and a half, almost 60% of Ukrainians living here have been living on state aid. If we look at how work is dealt with among Ukrainians in neighboring countries, we see that in Denmark, for example, half of Ukrainians work, in the Czech Republic too, and in the Netherlands it is 70% of Ukrainians, that have gone into work. 26.5% of Ukrainian refugees work in Germany, and this also includes those who lived here before the war began. So it's reasonable to assume that the citizen's money and the rather easy access to this citizen's money has something to do with the fact that people don't get to work quickly. But you shouldn't forget that a lot of bureaucracy always plays a big role in Germany and that it's not that easy for some people to get work. Bureaucracy is also one of the big issues in this election campaign. I'm curious to see whether Dietmar Woidke will come up with a few good ideas before September. We are excited. Thank you, Dorothea, for your classification.