Three words still divide Germany: “We can do it.” No other political slogan in postwar Germany has caused such a kerfuffle. This little phrase, which Chancellor Angela Merkel used for the first time in the summer of 2015, will forever haunt her chancellorship. It could even influence the coming federal election.
On 5 September 2015, Chancellor Merkel, together with her Austrian counterpart at the time, Werner Faymann, decided to allow Syrian asylum seekers unrestricted access via Hungary. As a result, more and more people began crossing the Balkan route to Germany. In 2015, a total of 890,000 people arrived seeking asylum in the German Federal Republic.
For Merkel’s opponents, the phrase ‘We can do it’ stands for everything that has gone wrong in the refugee policy of the federal government. Deep divisions ran through the governing coalition. There were attacks from the CSU, the sister party of Merkel’s christian democrats.
And then there is the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The right-wing populist party, which at the time of Merkel’s ‘We can do it’ press conference stood at just 4% in the polls, used Merkel’s slogan against her to rack up votes in one state election after another. Today, the right-wing, populist, anti-immigration party is represented in 14 state legislatures.
Will the AfD move into the Bundestag in September? What impact will Merkel’s refugee policy have on the election? Could it be that Merkel will lose the election because of her decision of September 2015?
We had a comment from Bert, who believes Merkel’s refugee policy will cost her the election. To get a reaction, we spoke with Wolfgang Bosbach, a Member of the Bundestag with Merkel’s CDU party. What would he say? How will Merkel’s refugee policy affect the election in September?
If there had not been a series of necessary course corrections in the refugee policy, the threat [of losing the election] would be realistic. But precisely because the Federal Government and the Bundestag have made some clear course corrections in the refugee policy in the past few months, I do not believe that the CDU will lose its position as the strongest party, or that Angela Merkel’s Chancellorship is in danger. The asylum package 1 and 2, the integration law, the better registration of refugees, the comprehensive collection of fingerprints, have all contributed to a reduction in immigration on humanitarian grounds and to a higher level of security and speed in the administrative process. The problems from 2015/2016 have been overcome.
We also wanted to hear a voice from Merkel’s critics, so we talked to Anton Hofreiter, co-chairman of the Greens in the Bundestag. What would he say?
I believe that the refugee issue will have a particular impact on the vote in terms of who has the best integration policies, who has the best policies for tackling the causes of migration, and who can provide a humane refugee policy. And I very much hope that we can solve these issues between democratic parties and that people do not fall for the false promises of right-wing parties.
Finally, we also had a comment sent in from Joachim. He too believes that the mainstream parties will lose votes in September. So, will the AfD be the main political benificiary of the refugee crisis in the upcoming German elections? Or has the moment passed? We put this question to Werner Patzelt, Professor of Political Science at the Dresden University of Technology.
The very fact alone that the AfD is likely to arrive in the Bundestag shows that the established parties are losing votes. Electoral turnout will also increase, so that there don’t have to be losses in absolute numbers for the established parties. The extent to which the AfD can benefit from the refugee issue depends on the extent to which the refugee issue exceeds the public perception threshold, and the political consequences of immigration to Germany can’t be exploited by other political parties.
Will Merkel’s refugee policy cost her the election? Will the AfD move into the Bundestag and steal voices from the established parties? Or is the refugee crisis no longer such a significant issue? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions!
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Considering how many lives it cost, she should be in prison
Care to explain? As I see it it is saving thousands of lives.
It’s like, having nothing to say… So sad…
Michael Holz just ignore the trolls. they lost in holland, france, and now they will lose in DE.
She will bring sharia to Germany. And all the people protecting her fakefugees story should get the same as her ..
Actualy the patriots”right” are gaining in EU.. Soo your story doesnt match.
First duty of any nation is to protect its own people. she broke Schengen so she can let them in. They where safe long before Germany. No one chased them away from Turkey or Greece or the rest of the countries they passed trough. She sacrificed her own people, and the economy for something that was not even vital. People from places where rape victims are imprisoned, where women are legally beaten, where gays and atheists legally killed, known to have terrorists among them, cannot be just taken in. She and those who supported all this, needs to be put in to prison. They are accomplices in all those rapes, murders and other crimes.
EU must prosecute and imprison all those politicians that propagated this immigration policy that cost so many lives.
Zille Vuk where?
Holand? Nop
France? Nop
Áustria? Nop
Germany? Lol
Where is the far right wining?
Stop reading pseudo law blogs or whatever and dont throw around with terms you dont know anything about. But at least you listed several reasons why people are fleeing. (´places where rape victims are imprisoned, where women are legally beaten, where gays and atheists legally killed, known to have terrorists among them´) That is nice, thanks
Uli Czeranka If you are talking to me where is misinformation? I m not citing blogs, but even if that info could be found on blogs, that does not automatically disqualify it. More than 500k “refugees” passed trough my country and no one was forcing them to go to any other country. Germany did not save any of them. This was sacrifice of people for political points. I told the truth. Merkel and her ilk should be in prison.
What about immigrants from your country? Don’t they kill and rape people? Don’t they engage in organised crime (Mafia)? What humanitarian grounds do people from your country have to immigrate to other countries? From what I understood, none, just looking for more money. At least a refugee is fleeing from war and terrorism.
Think you may find it was only won because of the migrant vote.
It absolutely cost lives of numerous people in Paris who were killed by terrorists some of which used the refugees welcome no borders policy to slip out of Syria and infiltrate Europe to kill people. Numerous German women, girls and boys have been raped and gang raped as a result of this policy as well. Famously on New Years 2016 thousands of girls were groped and some even gang raped in public in Cologne. 1 girl even had an abortion as she didnt know who the father of her child is. The final cost of this foolish trojan horse policy is not known it may very well be a future Syria style civil war in Europe against future generations of islamists who are descendents of these refugee people who used this open door to settle here. We must understand that hijra/immigration is what muhammad the prophet of the muslims did as part of his strategy, a strategy that was victorious for him. At this point in time with all the problems associated with islamic migration Turks in Germany, Pakistanis in Britain, Morrocans in the Netherlands etc. and the increasing islamic terror threat it is not logical to continue allowing in more people from Middle East and North African Countries. Think off all the dead people. Think off all the sucurity apparatus necessary after every attack(more cameras, more police, soldiers on the streets in full battle gear), the huge costs to defend our Nations, building up internal borders rather than defending tge external borders and keeping these people out. Don’t pray for London or Paris, do something to prevent the attacks in the first place. The manchester bombers father came as a refugee, had he never been let in his son would not have been in the UK to kill people. We need the travel ban policy and we need it now!!!
@Pedro Castro
For my country NL means:
Wilders gained 8 seats.
For “I-smile-away-all-problems ” dauergrinzer Rutte is the fact, the Turkish incident in Rotterdam “saved” him.
But he lost 8 seats.
For France:
Mr Macron received 16% support for his ideas and the rest voted against Le Pen. (Source BFM TV)
That`s why Macron received on twitter the nickname Micron.
For Austria 50% – 50%
In totally we can say the mainstream populists parties are loosing it, but still in control.
It`s time for new faces for the traditional parties and try to gain trust again from the voters.
We need each other in Europe, but apparantly doesn`t want the present politicians to make the #EU change we need.
No way. Her only viable candidate would be a much worse choice.
Putin could learn a lot from Merkel. :) How to stay in power for ages and do it very democratically.
I don’t know if you can call democratic her immigration policy that she imposed on other E.U countries…
They could have said no to her.
Indeed balcans did
No way. Her only viable alternative candidate would be a much worse choice.
Putin could learn a lot from Merkel. :) How to stay in power for ages and do it very democratically.
No, I don’t think the Germans are that gullible to let themselves manipulated by the soviet propaganda machine.
What Merkel/EU did was to offer humanitarian aid to the WAR! refugees, which in my opinion was what any decent human being will do.
Then you should go and live close to “fakefugees” and i ask you the question within 6months”did you like it”..
“fakefugees”? The death toll in Syrian War for civilians has reached 207,000, 94% of which were at the hands of the Syrian-Russian(Putin’s backed) Alliance!
Of the 207,000 civilians killed, 24,000 were children! and 23,000 women!
While I understand spreading soviet propaganda is how some make a living nowadays … this? endorsing war crimes? it’s as low as one can get!
I understrand what she did, however, taking a decision which skip other nations sovereignity and would make a bureaucratic mess among the schengen members, is simply a massive mistake, an autoritarian decision and shows how little she has foresight.
Looking at the polls, her party is gaining support while her biggest competitor from the social Democrats is loosing support. So no, the refuge policy will not cost her the election.
She governs a coalition government and the people hold the coalition partner socialists primarily responsible for the bad policies. They are a bad influence on governing.
For example, the CDU would like to speed up the deportations of fake-refugees and criminals but the socialists are against it. Statistically about half the people are illegitimate asylum seekers.
The people are supportive and helpful towards real refugees, not the fake ones. They should have gotten visas.
What, in your definition, is a fake refugee?
That’s a person with an illegitimate claim for asylum and lifelong support for him/her and family.
See the data on Eurostat.
Only because Schultz is a complete moron. AfD will NOT gain che government. But it will increase its presence in the Bundestag.
No, we do not fall for fake news and alternative facts unlike British or Americans
Really, don’t be so confident…
You’d be amazed how many people do not get basic critical principles.
How then do you explain the rise of the disillusioned right wing?
It’s the choice of the free world, losing her on the leader place will unbound the hands across the ocean and on east.
She is a bigger Marxist than Karl Marx. I can’t even slightly support her. Unfortunately Shultz is no better, he is also a communist. Sadly, there are no strong leaders in Europe to counter KGB Putin and this clown Trump. We also have this crazy dictator Erdogan…. I hope we have luckier days
AFD is solution for Germans.. If they want to save there way if life,there wifes and children. Merkel is making Germans comit suicide !!
I’m sorry but i had to thank you for the good laugh
Isnt in Portugal that moslims trow the rocks on people coming out of church!? Hmmmm
You can’t even spell Muslim correctly so I am sure you have no idea what you are talking about and never took the time to actually get to know a refugee.
First duty of any nation is to protect its own people. she broke Schengen so she can let them in. They where safe long before Germany. No one chased them away from Turkey or Greece or the rest of the countries they passed trough. She sacrificed her own people, and the economy for something that was not even vital. People from places where rape victims are imprisoned, where women are legally beaten, where gays and atheists legally killed, known to have terrorists among them, cannot be just taken in. She and those who supported all this, needs to be put in to prison. They are accomplices in all those rapes, murders and other crimes.
That is very weak comparing to her very leading roles in destroying d aesh and rewardig her country to be the best in supporting the innocent wars victims during that humaniterian crisis…Your western far right views is supporting Isis in a level of intelligence that an ordinary lazy European citizen unable to digest that….That unfair propagandas run by some capitalists owning private media broadcasting and newspapers brings back to the world s attentions the fact that the terrorists and the western Racists are working together in that ways to divide the world…. German s are not fool nation or could be easily brainwashed as they have paid in the past very highly costs to rebuild their homeland several times….Terrorism was born in that capitalist western countries that are trying to destroy your E.u. and to use that crisis resulted from the terrorists criminals actions today…. It does not cost any honest and Independant person to get that correctly….It is their politics to do so including shaming the European Christianity and the European Democracy to build several bigger walls amongst your hearts…
i hope so
Its only a matter of time. Just that is least she deserves for bringing this threat into Europe….. Same awaits rest of leftist parties that wanted this for their countries. Just really, if you think that fake news are responsible for support of far right or at least those that would stop mass immigration then you really don’t know anything. People can see what is happening in their communities and to their own people. They are done being hostages in their own countries and more oppressive laws you try to make to silence their concerns more desperate they will become. This will be resolved either with politics or inevitable violence. Just for now masses still hope that you will change this course and actually do what is in interest of native populations which means protection of our borders and stopping any mass immigration. Those that are allowed to come are expected to contribute. We are the ones that made this political elite and without our support your influence will diminish. You will never be able to regain trust that you had before you allowed this to happen. So choice is yours and decision you make will determine whether this project survives or more countries will decide to leave until it becomes unsustainable.I know that you see those imported masses as boost from immigrant communities in order to protect survival of this project. Just you can have both without those incompatible masses. Just that will mean actual protection of cultures, ideologies and its people and that especially goes for native populations. There is no place for tolerance to islamists that want to impose sharia law on everybody. Least of all should you negotiate with such. Cause weaker response you have greater encouragement they will have to threaten us…. Islamists must be driven out from our countries and never allowed to return. That is the only way to actually give a chance to rest of peaceful Muslims to be contributing members to our countries without presenting direct threat to our way of life.
Your ideas are replusive and impossible to implement. No one is forcing upon you their laws, they come in search of peace and means to start of a new life. To be human is to have empathy and you who most likely will never experience in your life what these people experienced in a day. Your hysteria and bias baseless name calling is unsupported by facts and your trying to pass off the opinion, that they are trying to impose Sharia law, as a fact is just exactly what fake news does.
She brought dangers into Europe. She should leave.
She brought war torn families who only wish to rebuild their life and pay back the country that saved them. She did the opposite of the one single worst thing that the allies did in WWII which was to ignore the Jewish plight and leave them to die.
.
It doesn’t matter, Germany now owns the EU.
@Ivan Burrows
CORRECT!
Please kindly engage in my campaign to rename the ‘EU’ the ‘GEU’ – German European Union!
Doesn’t look like it. Her approval ratings are improving since the last three provincial elections from which her party came out strong. Germany is showing strong economically and Germans want to keep it on that path. Internal security is high on the agenda as well. Hence, they will forgive her as long as she stays away from a repeat of 2015.
Rates of offiddese counts.
hope so
Naw. There’s nobody else could fill in her shoes.
she is in power for 12 enough is enough ….. i wonder how her party still elect her , something so weird going in the world ( a shadow powerful governements )
The germans are happy with her as she brought prosperity to the country
Definitely, the Looser . . .
You sound like a broken record of the illogical and uneducated claims that Donald Trump throws out.
Hope so…
Hopefully it will she as ruined europe
I hope so…she’s very dangerous she destroyed Europe…!!!…
She should be arrested for the traitor she is. So should the others who are helping with the invasion of Europe by her EU.
What a sweetheart!!!
hope so,
I also hope so but its a lost cause
let’s hope so
It will cost us a continent never mind the election in what has become a parody of the German nation.
She will remain Chancellor, of course there was the possibility of Schultz taking over, but he’s lost a number of State elections already, AND he wanted ‘More Europe’ – so not much choice.. a rock and a hard place.. Of course one cannot discount the concern that Erdogan will get back capital punishment,Germany is also threatening to move it’s service personnel from the NATO Incirlik base in Turkey.. IF Erdogan gets back the death penalty (which looks certain) the EU will no longer be permitted to ‘pay’ Turkey to ‘look’ after the millions of migrants there (EU rules about Capital Punishment).. so what’s Erdogan to do with ’em? Yep send them on their way.. where to? Kine danke
I hope it does. 3 terms is enough
I doubt it. They don’t trust the alternative.
There is no real alternative. Martin Schultz is more of the same
All EU governments are culpits of the thousends of inmigrants dead in the Mediterranean Sea. Why? because after years of penalties they arrive to the Mediterranean south shore….they pay a lot of money to embark on a barge that in a few miles will be saved by ships, red cross, ong’s, etcc and taken to Europe where will be received has guests and given all sorts of help. Would it not be better if they could board a ship, a plain, a train, a bus, from their home country, pay the fare and alight in Europe? The END would be the same but less dangerous.
Better for them, for sure. For many of the voters, no.
Why come to EU? We are so different. They have so much trouble in integrariam. They should go to the islamic countries in the near and most of them very rich countries.
Democracy is a beautiful thing that empowers people and gives them a voice. Going to any other of the Islamic countries runs the chance of more repression and terible dictators.
No way
YES, probably !
This is an outdated article. Merkel spoke the three words in autumn 2015. The concerns mentioned in the article have diminished considerably since the beginning of 2017. In the moment polls in Germany show that Merkel is doing much better than anybody dared to hope half a year ago.
Hope so….!
Looks as being so cheerful keeps her going .
Looks as being so cheerful keeps her going .
Looks as being so cheerful keeps her going .
Well if it doesnot, the German people only have themselves to blame for their future!
Why are we interested in anything to do with the EU? I thought we had the Brexit vote to become isolated from The EU
Why don’t you just leave the group? Groupxit!
It should cost her more than that..
No !!!!
Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life. Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components.
Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges.
When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well..
Here’s how it works:
As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens.
It is a trick. At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic
minorities and disaffected groups, often with major
recruiting from the jails and among street gangs. From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population.
For example, they will push for the introduction of halal food (clean by Islamic standards), thereby securing food preparation jobs for
Muslims.They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves — along with threats for failure to comply.
At this point, they will work to get the ruling government
to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos)
under Sharia, the Islamic Law.
The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law
over the entire world.
When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to
increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions.
In Paris, we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non Muslim
action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam, with opposition to Mohammed cartoons
and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections. FRANCE
After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting,
jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues. Think what is going on in Turkey now, after the so called coupe attempt.
At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks,
From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels.
After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent
jihad, some
State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these
nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim.
Can a Muslim be a good American?
Theologically – no, because his allegiance is to Allah.
Religiously – no, because no other religion is accepted by His Allah except Islam (Qur’an 2:256).
Scripturally – no, because his allegiance is to the five Pillars of Islam and the Qur’an.
Geographically – no, because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.
Socially – no, because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.
Politically – no, because he must submit to the mullahs (spiritual leaders) who teach the annihilation of Israel and the destruction of America, the great Satan.
Domestically – no, because he is instructed to marry four Women and beat his wife when she disobeys him
Zille’s presentation is on topic under this specific forum question. A very popular & worrying issue within most indigenous EU folks. Unfortunately avoided & dismissed like a hot potato by our national & supranational EU representatives! Why?
What “more important” issues are there to attend than to preserve & protect all EU citizens in compliance with our existing EU & UN Humans Right culture. Why is the EU leadership prepared to accommodate & accept- without blinking- migrants from ~45 countries who are ardent subscribers and signatories to the Cairo Declaration of Human Right in Islam?
Is there “somebody” in the EU leadership with enough courage to address these points? Let’s ask & hear the TOP EU leadership to address that topic- at length!
And please, avoid using the “aging Europe” agenda! Thank you!
What is Merkel’s real agenda? Note, Muslims supported Germany in both world wars including attacking British, French and Jewish interests. How much of a closet muslim could Merkel be?
Warscheinlich. Ya.
NO CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peoples are so stupid i doubt it!
Fear of nationalism has led to the invasion of Islam. It is too late for Germany.
For Poland as well my friend.
Changing the face of Europe and not for the better.
I hope but I don’t think so.
Merkel’s insistence on trickle down economics (Austerity) has ruined Europe
Cost her the elections, no.
But I think there should be a change in Germany and Europe. We ve had enough with Merkel and Scheuble.
MERKEL WILL BE SURPRISED TO LOSE THIS TIME, LIKE HILARY CLINTON AND JOIN THE COMPANY OF OBAMA.
Obama did not lose, he couldn’t run again because he had all ready been in office for the maximum number of terms.
–HOPEFULLY !-
I hope so!
It should cost her,her head….
Probably one day the europeans will realise (too late) that the inmigrant policy has destroyed Europe, but there will be nobody to blame. But History can’t be discarded…arab invasion from the south…turkish invasion from the east…now muslim invasion from all over.
MERKEL VIROU APOIAR O TERRORISMO ISLÂMICO.
I hope soooooo
In my opinion she has made a mistake and broke EU law not informing other European countries that they would like to take so many immigrants / refugees Except Austria.Only Austrian government was informed. Then she wanted to push those immigrants / refugees wherever possible, to other countries despite the fact that all of them [immigrants] were shouting ….Germany…Germany! She created chaos and problems in Europe.Being in Schengen zone those asylum seekers can travel everywhere.They usually look for the countries with good social benefits.Even if they were taken by other EU countries , they ran away from them and hid …nobody knows where. I guess in Germany, Sweden..etc.This way they live in those countries unknown, not- registered In spite of those facts, I think she should win and she has got a big chance to win.I would risk saying …she will win.But every moment there is a terrorist attack , she should think it happens because of her naive, careless decision. And all those German citizens who used to come to the railway stations with cuddle toys shouting …welcome…welcome, supporting her.- you made it. You put Europe in danger.
E NÃO SÓ NESTA ULTIMAS 48 HORAS TODO DISCURSO MUDOU , MAS AS PESSOAS SÃO AS MESMAS .EXISTE ZONAS NO PLANETA PODE ATÉ AS PLACAS TATÓNICAS SE MEXEREM . DEUS PROTEJA PARTE DA HUMANIDADE !…
No, 65 to 70 % of the europeans will keep on electing for their own destruction and replacement. When it’s too late, it will be somebody else’s fault.
I sure hope so, if we are to have any hope in this hell europe has become…
I sure hope so, if we are to have any hope in this hell europe has become…
I sure hope so, if we are to have any hope in this hell europe has become…
She must resign
Well now have you seen what she is now saying today I quote the eu will negotiate with the U.K. As if it is still a partner .
No way.
Will Merkel’s refugee policy cost her the election?
Only if the German people care more about their culture and social cohesion than they believe the lies they are being swamped with every day.
This woman is Eastern European selling the banking business propaganda, hence the reason she is colluding with Macron and how she became the leader of the German people. Like, Hilary Clinton, she sold out.
Trump, not Hillary sold out and colluded with the Russians. Hillary only had her own stupidity and internal scandals to blame. If Merkel colludes with Macron that means she is not on the side of Eastern Europe. That would have been Le Pen who would have been Russia’s lapdog if elected. Eastern Europe is only the doorstep of Russia and the launch grounds of Putins next USSR
bob
Trump hasn’t had a chance to sell out.
What you don’t like is, it looks as if he is going to stick to his promises given from his campaign for the White House. Worrying isn’t it? The Globalists may have to ‘move over darling.’ And about time too.
http://getliberty.org/2017/06/president-trump-puts-america-first-keeps-campaign-promise-as-u-s-exits-paris-climate-accord/
It appears to me he is just the President the American people voted for. Too bad you disagree with them.
PS: The Russians have nothing to do with the failures of Western politicians. They are simply a scapegoat for illusionists to muddy the waters, in order to keep the eye off their fancy footwork.
Let us hope and pray. The mad cow is trying to destroy the continent.
I tedeschi si guardano intorno….guardano gli altri Paesi europei e vedono desolazione ( causata dalla politica tedesca , anche della Merkel che in quanto a furbizia negativa non la batte nessuno ). I tedeschi mica capiscono che sono loro a creare quella desolazione che vedono….e la rivotano.
Will Merkel’s refugee policy cost her the election?
It should for the sake of the entire EU.
What the German people have to ask is, are they happy with the refugee policy they have? If not, why not? And will she do anything to put it right for them should she be re-elected?
I hope it does. There was no policy. It was a free-for-all and people were encouraged to actually break the law by crossing borders without papers.