BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faced sharp criticism from his coalition partner Tuesday over controversial remarks on migration, with critics accusing him of echoing the racist rhetoric of the far-right AfD Party.

Social Democratic Party (SPD) Secretary General Tim Klussendorf publicly criticized Merz for using divisive rhetoric that undermines public trust, marking one of the sharpest rebukes from the coalition partner since the government formed earlier this year.

"We certainly have problems in Germany when it comes to crime and security," Klussendorf said in an interview on the n-tv news channel. "But constantly reducing all of these problems to a single issue—migration—and mixing so many things together while generalizing about migrants is divisive and destroys trust,” he said.

Klussendorf emphasized that his expectations for the person holding one of Germany's highest offices are considerably higher, particularly when it comes to language that could stigmatize entire communities.

The controversy erupted after Merz, speaking at an event in Potsdam last week, was asked about the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Merz, who leads the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), responded by saying his government was correcting past migration policy failures and making progress.

"But of course, we still have this problem in the cityscape, and that's why our interior minister is now working on plans for enabling and carrying out deportations on a larger scale," he said.

When pressed by reporters on Monday, Merz doubled down on his position and repeated his claim that irregular migrants remain a "problem in the cityscape." He vowed that his government will speed up stricter security measures and deportations.

“Ask your children, ask your daughters, ask your friends and acquaintances. Everyone confirms that this is a problem, at least after dark. And that is why we will have to find a solution to this problem,” Merz said, adding that he received many supportive messages after his comments last week.

The government's integration commissioner, Natalie Pawlik, also publicly criticized the chancellor's remarks. She warned that such statements deepen divisions within society and ultimately benefit the far-right AfD party.

"Migration must not be stigmatized through short-sighted or populist snap judgments—that divides society even more and ultimately helps the wrong people instead of promoting solutions," the Social Democrat politician said in a statement.

Opposition parties—the Greens and the Left Party—also criticized Merz over his remarks, stressing that his comments cast all migrants under suspicion and portrayed them as criminals. On Sunday, around 5,000 people took to the streets in Berlin to protest Merz's controversial remarks. They accused him of adopting the rhetoric of the far-right AfD party and demanded an apology to migrants and refugees.