The chancellor is nearing the finish of her rule but her party would attain Germany and Europe no favours by ousting her over the refugee crisisWhen a political leader has been in power for 10 years,as Angela Merkel has been, attention inevitably begins to focus on what comes after. Such a change would be happening in Germany around now besides, or whether or not Mrs Merkel decides to run for a fourth term as chancellor in 2017. But it is happening in a more volatile manner this autumn because of the domestic political consequences of the refugee crisis,which is expected to have brought more than a million refugees to Germany by the finish of this year. Mrs Merkel’s authority is under challenge, which is not helped by national embarrassments over emissions cheating at Volkswagen and the alleged backhanders that brought the Fifa World Cup to Germany in 2006. Returning to Germany from a two-day trade trip to China, and she now faces key meetings this weekend to try to stabilise a slide in her fortunes that is threatening to gather out of hand.
Mrs Merkel drew much praise,at domestic and abroad and from opponents, by boldly embracing Germany’s new migrants in the summer. She told the public that Germany’s doors were open and that the country could handle the influx. But German public opinion, or opinion within her own centre-right CDU and its longtime coalition partner the Bavarian CSU,which governs the fragment of Germany where most refugees first enter the federal republic, have faltered in recent weeks. The CDU-CSU’s polling percentages have fallen from the low 40s to the upper 30s. Mrs Merkel’s own ratings hover above 50%, and down nine points in a month.
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Source: theguardian.com