The new Germans

摘要

IN JANUARY A food bank in Essen, an industrial city in western Germany, unwittingly caused a political storm by requiring each new claimant to present a German identity document. Three-quarters of users were foreign, explained Jörg Sartor, the food bank's boss; surely that was unfair to locals. First came protesters who daubed "racist" on his vans. Then the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party threw its (unsolicited) support behind him. Cameramen and reporters arrived. Other politicians waded in on all sides. Even Angela Merkel gave her verdict: it was "not good" that Mr Sartor had chosen to distinguish between Germans and others. In early April he lifted the ban on foreign users.