Horst Seehofer: For Seehofer, the asylum dispute is over

Horst Seehofer, the head of the CSU, examines the dispute with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on the asylum policy of sedentary people. "We are looking forward," said the Federal Minister of the Interior of "Bild am Sonntag". "I always say that the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror, and we've always stayed that way."

If the grand coalition agreements and the proposals of its "master plan" were implemented, "an ever lower number of asylum seekers would come to Germany," predicts Mr Seehofer.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) considers the compromise on asylum as an opportunity to weaken the AfD. "In any case, he repels the AfD," he told Welt am Sonntag.

The recent poll shows the opposite: in the current Sunday trend of Emnid for the "Bild am Sonntag", the AFD rises three points to the record of 17 percent. For the first time, it is as strong as the SPD, which gives two counters. The CDU / CSU loses two points, only 30% would currently vote for the Union.

Seehofer wants to present his "Masterplan Migration" this Tuesday. At the original version of the fierce asylum dispute between CDU and CSU had ignited. Seehofer had expected that elsewhere in the EU, already registered asylum seekers should be returned to the German border. Merkel refused. The conflict, in which Seehofer had threatened to resign and the trade union community was on the brink of collapse, was only allowed last week.

Seehofer's plan concerns relatively few migrants

Following the compromise between the CDU, the CSU and the SPD, only asylum seekers who have already applied for asylum in another EU country must be rejected at the German-French border. Austrian – and only on the basis of agreements with travelers with Austria, which still needs to be negotiated. The question of whether such agreements are successful is uncertain.

Seehofer nevertheless considered that the compromise marked a change of asylum in Germany: "We send the signal that illegal migration is no longer worth it". Basically, the government is finally acting. The fact that the planned measures concern relatively few migrants is secondary.

He had a substantive argument with the Chancellor. He could, of course, continue to work with confidence with Merkel. "It's also our duty and our responsibility to the people," said CSU head of "Bild am Sonntag". "None of us has questioned the continued existence of the government – at any time."

Seehofer threatened at the height of the conflict his resignation as Minister of the Interior and made serious allegations to Merkel. "I will not be defeated by a chancellor who is chancellor only because of me", he said "Süddeutsche Zeitung" shortly before the meeting, during which the CDU and the CSU finally found a compromise

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Nahles: Söder speaks like the AfD

Söder defended the controversial term "asylum tourism", which the CSU had invented at the height of the conflict. "The population understands the word" asylum tourism "unfortunately very precise," he said the "Sunday World". People do not understand that migrants are returning to Germany, which is already subject to a ban on entry. "A majority of citizens are also wondering: why does someone who has applied for asylum in Spain have to continue his proceedings in Germany?"

The SPD party and the leader of the parliamentary group, Andrea Nahles, accuse Söder and CDU deputy leader Julia Klöckner of such a choice of words to stir up resentment against refugees and use AfD rhetoric . "When Mr Söder and Mrs Klöckner talk about 'asylum tourism', they talk like the AfD, which pushes standards, hurts values, serves resentment," Nahles told Welt am Sonntag. Klöckner had picked up the term in an interview with ARD.