Between Populist Rhetoric and Pragmatic Policy Making: The Normalization of Migration as an Electoral Issue in German Politics

In Germany issues of immigration and integration have gradually moved into the centre of competitive party politics over the past twenty years. This article highlights two central features of this development: First, in recent years there has been a notable gap between highly polarizing (populist) public debates on the one hand and a gradual conversion of policy choices among the country’s main parties on the other. Second, the immigration issue poses a considerable challenge to the core political identity of the centre-left and the centre-right. Based on a frame analysis of electoral politics this article argues that, in spite of immigrants’ traditional support for the Social Democratic Party, Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party has recently been successful in claiming ownership over the immigration issue by linking it to policy fields in which it commands public trust, namely economic and security policies.