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Spotlight: Merkel takes offensive in response to refugee dilemma

Xinhua, October 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

With refugee numbers rising, the German government is coming under increasing pressure. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has probably never been criticized for her decidedly positive attitude in the immigration debate to such an extent as she currently is.

After more than 200,000 asylum seekers came to Germany in the month of September, the refugee influx is now causing the Germans anxiety.

To cope with this unprecedented situation, Merkel decided to go on the offensive in the refugee crisis by designating Peter Altmaier, chief of staff of Merkel's office, as general coordinator of the German government to manage the current refugee crisis.

CRITICISM OF MERKEL'S REFUGEE POLICY

Occasionally using harsh words, politicians from Germany's grand coalition government are demanding that Merkel adjust her refugee policy.

Minister-President of Bavaria Horst Seehofer criticized Merkel's decision made on Sept. 4 to take in refugees camping in Hungary and urged a "strong signal" in the opposite direction.

"We have reached the capacity limit. More is not possible," Seehofer said on Bayerischer Rundfunk television.

Due to the "emergency at the Hungarian border," Merkel permitted the onward journey of refugees from Hungary to Germany earlier in September.

German local media Spiegel Online reported on Wednesday that 34 officials of Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union have written Merkel a three-page letter that says that the chancellor's refugee policies disregard the principles of the party and have broken the law.

Outside of her party, Merkel is also accused of having enforced a situation that can barely be controlled politically.

A poll conducted by Initiative for Market and Social Research showed a big turnaround in opinion among Germans on the current refugee crisis, as 59 percent of respondents thought Merkel had been wrong to allow Syrian refugees to travel to Germany from Hungary.

MERKEL'S POPULARITY SINKS

The large influx of up to 10,000 refugees into Germany has damaged public confidence in Merkel's competence, as several public opinion polls showed that Merkel has lost popularity.

According to "Germany Trend" for ARD television, although 54 percent of respondents were satisfied with her work, the figure showed a decrease of nine percent over the previous month. Satisfaction with the work of Seehofer, on the contrast, has increased by 11 percentage points.

Meanwhile, uncertainty is growing among the Germans, as 51 percent of them say the permanent influx of refugees frightens them. In September the figure was only 38 percent.

According to a survey conducted by German news magazine Spiegel, Merkel was for the first time replaced by her Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the most popular politician in this legislature period.

While 67 percent of respondents wished that Steinmeier would continue to play "an important role," the same gauge for Merkel slipped to 63 percent, down five percentage points from the last survey and standing fourth, behind Steinmeier, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and German President Joachim Gauck respectively.

"NO QUICK SOLUTION"

Germany must accept and structure this task, Merkel said on Bayerischer Rundfunk television as a response to criticisms, adding that she would again decide to open the borders for refugees.

As the Germans are becoming increasingly skeptical about their government's refugee policies, the chancellor had to defend her course frequently in recent days.

"We can not close the borders. If you build a fence, people are looking for other ways. There is no hiring freeze," Merkel said on a TV talkshow on Wednesday night.

"We can do it. I'm firmly convinced of it," she said.

However, from Merkel's point of view, there will be no quick solution to the refugee crisis.

According to the latest asylum figures published by the German Interior Ministry on Thursday, the number of asylum applications pending at the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has grown to some 300,000. In August, there had still been about 277,000 open procedures.

Since the Federal Office can hardly keep up with the asylum procedure, some of the refugees need to wait for weeks to be able to submit an application.

According to German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, up to a million refugees may arrive in Germany in 2015, a figure bigger than the earlier official estimates of 800,000.

When asked whether she was willing to risk her chancellorship in dealing with the refugee problem, Merkel said on the talkshow, "I am willing to work as hard as I can. I have to go my way."

Merkel described her goal as a triad, saying the aim is to streamline the asylum process in Germany, to better protect the EU's external borders and ensure a fair distribution of the new arrivals, as well as to tackle causes of migration in the countries of origin in a targeted manner.

However, when it comes to the current growing asylum figures and critics, Merkel has no choice now but to ask for patience and trust. Endi