GERMANY: Germany's landmark immigration bill passed the upper house of parliament yesterday amid bitter accusations and a walk-out by conservative politicians who called the vote illegal.
The legislation opens Germany up for the first time in more than 30 years to non-EU workers and their families and presents new measures to integrate foreigners better into German society.
The final vote in the Bundesrat, the upper house, hinged on the vote of the state of Brandenburg, governed by a coalition of Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU). The state's SPD minister president, Mr Manfred Stolpe, voted for the motion, while his CDU deputy voted against.
Despite a constitutional requirement for states to vote unanimously, Mr Stolpe's Yes vote was taken as deciding the matter and the legislation was passed after a marathon five-hour debate. After the vote, the normally sedate Bundesrat chamber descended into disorder. Conservative state heads spoke of a "constitutional crisis" before leaving the chamber in protest.
The fate of the immigration legislation was unclear last night but the after-shocks of the vote will be felt right up to election day in six months. "I can only say I regret deeply that this issue has now landed in the election campaign," said Mr Stolpe, whose state coalition was on the brink of collapse last night.
It is a disastrous outcome for the Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, who had hoped to get the issue off the political agenda before the start of the election campaign. The government had hoped the immigration proposals would curb Germany's declining birth rate and address a skills shortage, which has left 1.5 million high-skilled jobs unfilled.
