The internal fractures within Germany’s ruling coalition deepened this week as SPD parliamentarian Rasha Nasr revealed she seriously contemplated resigning her Bundestag seat last year over the government’s increasingly restrictive migration policies. In a candid interview with “Der Spiegel”, Nasr articulated a growing disillusionment with the direction of the “black-red” coalition (Social Democrats and Greens) and the compromises she feels compelled to make.
Nasr, the SPD’s spokesperson for migration policy, confessed to considering her departure in the summer of 2025. While ultimately deciding to remain, her admission underscores a palpable tension within the ruling party, particularly regarding policies impacting refugee families. The suspension of family reunification, a measure pushed through by the coalition last year, proved to be a pivotal breaking point for Nasr. She described the act as deeply personally distressing, highlighting the stark contrast between her own experiences of familial separation and the systematic denial of that same connection to others.
Critically, Nasr openly questioned the ethical justifications for her vote in favor of the family reunification suspension. She stated she felt pressured to avoid a scenario where the far-right AfD party would hold the deciding vote, acknowledging that she succumbed to this political maneuvering. “I was told, ‘You don’t want to be responsible for getting a majority with the AfD votes.’ So, I went along with it. I should have said: if we fear getting a majority with the AfD, then it’s probably just a terrible law”. This admission exposes a vulnerability within the government’s decision-making process and suggests that coalition compromises are increasingly reliant on tacit concessions to extremist political forces.
Furthermore, Nasr condemned the government’s decision to grant the federal government unilateral power to designate “safe countries of origin” characterizing the policy as “total garbage”. This declaration represents a significant challenge to the government’s current approach to asylum procedures and immigration control, signaling a potential rift between more progressive voices within the SPD and the prevailing policy direction.
Nasr’s public statements are likely to fuel debate within the governing coalition and draw criticism from opposition parties. They also provide a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the internal ethical and political dilemmas faced by politicians navigating complex and contentious policy areas within a fragile coalition government. The incident raises larger questions about the sustainability of the current political alignment and the potential for further dissent from within the SPD ranks.
