Angela Merkel has laid down a strong defence of her immigration policy after witnessing the dramatic rise of right-wing parties in Germany’s regional election in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The country’s most popular right-wing party, Alternative für Deutschland, received 20.9 percent of the vote behind the Social Democrats, and with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party coming third with their worst regional election result ever, with 19 percent, securing just 18 of the 71 seats available.
Sources are divided on the amount of refugees the German Government’s policy has allowed to enter the country since the refugee crisis began, but figures tend to range from 400,000 to 1,000,000. Regardless of the number of refugees accepted, the policy has seen increased tensions and conflict among Germany’s population.
The decision to implement the policy has received both support and criticism as well as being the central reason given for her success as 2015 Time Person of the Year in her 10th year as leader of Europe’s largest economy. Accordingly, she was heralded as being the “Chancellor of the Free World”.
However, many see these triumphs of her continuing tenure as disastrous policies that could, if they are not careful, ultimately see the deterioration of a country that has come so far in the 70 years since World War II.
It is unclear whether Merkel will seek a fourth presidential term, “her popularity is sharply down—polls showed uneasiness over Muslim immigrants even before the events of the summer...which her own Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schauble, termed an “avalanche.””
An estimated 11 million Syrians have fled their homes as a result of the on-going Syrian Civil War and 6.6 million being internally displaced, the situation will certainly plague the refugees' largely preferred home, Europe. Merkel, having implemented the policy, may now be embarking on a defence of it in order to lay the foundations for another presidential campaign; this time around it will be even more difficult for Merkel to succeed.