Merkel at odds with her own party over refugees
Germany’s Christian Democratic Union is not on the same page as its leader, Angela Merkel. Now the party must come to a decision on an immigration law,
reported. Merkel, chair of the CDU, has suffered politically in the past by changing policy direction. The last time was in 2011, when the Chancellor announced an accelerated nuclear phase-out, despite having delayed the closure of Germany’s plants just prior.
This had disastrous consequences for Merkel’s party, especially in BadenWürttemberg, where the CDU lost one of its traditionally safe seats to the Greens and the SPD.
Four years later and the CDU is reliving the experience all over again. Once more, it relates to a core theme of the party. This time it is “identity”. Again, Merkel’s party is sending out conflicting signals and questions will inevitably be asked as to whether the CDU’s policy is actually credible.
Firstly, the Chancellor opened up the border with Hungary to refugees, which bypassed the EU’s much-criticised Dublin system. Then the German authorities struggled to deal with the influx of tens of thousands of asylum seekers, which they have been unable to register properly. Finally, Merkel has reestablished border controls, suspending Schengen arrangements on the Austrian border, in an attempt to deal with the chaos. point that such a “humanitarian emergency” meant that no other course of action was possible. In her party’s national associations, however, the point of view that prevailed was that the opening of the borders was an action for which the country was not prepared. This perception was only reinforced, and, continued to worry CDU supporters, when Merkel was photographed at a refugee reception centre in Berlin, smiling and posing for selfies, in pictures that quickly made their way around the net. One particularly bitter photo with the caption “Saint Joan of Arabia” made the rounds on social media.
Merkel sought to quell the anger that the visit had caused, stating that the pictures with the refugees were not planned could not have been prevented.
Open criticism by the CSU of the Chancellor’s opening of the borders was considered “unhelpful” in many circles. At the same time though, it is a view shared by many parts of the CDU itself. However, the Chancellor knows that the decision to open the borders, as with the post-Fukushima situation, is an action that most Germans support. The ripostes to Merkel’s initial movements include CDU faction leaders agreeing on asylum centres for refugees from the Western Balkans in every region, a residency obligation, the replacement of a monetary allowance with a non-cash alternative, and immediate deportation of individuals whose applications are not successful.
Mike Mohring, regional chairman of the CDU in Thuringia, stated, “We are going to do our utmost to ensure that the influx of refugees and asylum seekers is limited so as to not endanger our country’s integration.”
The fact that the CDU leadership decided on Monday that a new immigration law will be discussed at the party’s congress in December, has been described by party members as an “unfortunate signal” that has come at the “wrong time”. Armin Laschet, whose party commission has worked on the issue for a year, defended Germany’s decision to reintroduce border controls.
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