Merkel has no regrets over refugee policy despite political cost

[webfact]

Merkel has no regrets over refugee policy despite political cost

By Erik Kirschbaum

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel a top candidate for the upcoming general elections of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) waves to supporters during an election campaign rally in Quedlinburg, Germany, August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she has no regrets about her 2015 decision to open the country's borders to hundreds of thousands of refugees and added she will not be deterred from campaigning by angry hecklers.

 

In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday, Merkel denied she had made any mistakes with her open-door policy even though the arrival of a million refugees over the last two years from Syria and Iraq opened deep rifts in her conservative party and depressed its support.

 

Four weeks before the Sept. 24 election, an Emnid opinion poll on Sunday showed Merkel's conservatives would win 38 percent, or 15 points ahead of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). That is up from 32 percent in February but well below the 41.5 percent her party won in the last election in 2013.

 

"I'd make all the important decisions of 2015 the same way again," Merkel said. "It was an extraordinary situation and I made my decision based on what I thought was right from a political and humanitarian standpoint.

 

"Those kinds of extraordinary situations happen every once in a while in a country's history," she added. "The head of government has to act and I did."

 

Her decision to open the borders contributed to a surge in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which pollsters say could win up to 10 percent in the September election.

 

Merkel, seeing a fourth term, has had to contend with loud and sustained heckling from demonstrators strongly opposed to her refugee policies so far on the campaign trail.

 

The volume and intensity of the protests have been especially strong in her home region in formerly communist eastern Germany. But the 63-year-chancellor said she would not be kept away from areas where animosity towards her runs high.

 

"We're a democracy and everyone can freely express themselves in public the way they want," she said. "It's important that we don't go out of our way to avoid certain areas only because there are a bunch of people screaming."

 

Support for Merkel and her party has recovered somewhat after the influx of refugees slowed in 2016 to 280,000 and fell even further to about 106,000 in the first seven months of this year.

 

Merkel said it was unfair that Greece and Italy were left on their own carrying the full burden of the refugee crisis "simply because of their geography". She added she would not stop pushing for the fair distribution of refugees across the European Union.

 

"That some countries refuse to accept any refugees is not on. That contradicts the spirit of Europe. We'll overcome that. It will take time and patience but we will succeed."

 

(Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum, editing by Louise Heavens)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-28

[inThailand]

Who cares about your political cost!

How about the costs to your fellow countrymen?

[ezzra]

When a dunce cast a stone into the depth of the ocean, a 1000 scholars will

not find it... can't put the genie back in the bottle, can't throw back one

million plus ' refugees ' out of the country,

Auntie Angela is happy that forever those million plus will think of her

as their savior and saint, and this is what she want, the hell with who's

going to be left behind to pay the bills long after she's gone....

 

[hansnl]

The EU bonzos and Merkel are guilty of destroying Europe by letting in thousands of so called fugutives against the population's needs and wishes.

The results are clear, Islam induced mayhem and havoc resulting in many deaths.

[BuaBS]

In the long run , Merkel will do more harm to Germany and the rest of Europe than Hitler.

[sweatalot]

"Merkel has no regrets over refugee policy despite political cost"

another reason not to reelect her but to sue her for damaging her country 

 

she swore an oath to help her country and to protect it against damage

[canuckamuck]

No regrets, I intended to screw over Europe and I did it.

[bert bloggs]

The tragedy is Germans will vote her back in ,millions more immegrants will descend on Europe ,which in the long run will die not with a scream but a whimper .

[tezzainthailand]

Gutsy lady, who had a conscience.  Of course, many on this forum will complain about the cost of bringing migrants in but never complain of the BIGGER cost of going to war.  Hypocrites!

[halloween]

1 hour ago, tezzainthailand said:

Gutsy lady, who had a conscience.  Of course, many on this forum will complain about the cost of bringing migrants in but never complain of the BIGGER cost of going to war.  Hypocrites!

Germany was planning to go to war?

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

No regrets, I intended to screw over Europe and I did it.

 

If she said she regretted it, then she'd be admitting she was wrong and made a poor decision. And she ain't never gonna do that, especially with an election round the corner!

 

Mrs Never wrong, do as I say. And what's worse she'll do anything, regardless of the consequences to others, to protect herself.

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, tezzainthailand said:

Gutsy lady, who had a conscience.  Of course, many on this forum will complain about the cost of bringing migrants in but never complain of the BIGGER cost of going to war.  Hypocrites!

 

Migrants - you admit that few were refugees and many simply illegal economic migrants taking advantage of the misfortune of others?

 

She exacerbated a dangerous situation by acting without considering the consequences. When that became obvious she tried to force her "conscience" on other nations regardless of their views and opinions.

 

Being repeatedly re-elected can make politicians believe their won propaganda.

[Jonmarleesco]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

"That some countries refuse to accept any refugees is not on.

They might be more enthusiastic were the EU's approach to the problem, and to solutions, more intelligent.

[Jonnapat]

5 hours ago, inThailand said:

Who cares about your political cost!

How about the costs to your fellow countrymen?

At least she showed compassion for people in real trouble and should be applauded for that.

The German economy has not suffered and it's only the racist bigots who object to this assistance..

My country ,the UK has done very little in this respect and for that they should feel shame 

[4737 Carlin]

Easy for her to say she has 'no regrets'. She lives with 24 hour personal security protection and has no kids of her own. I wonder if people who've been maimed or had their kids killed by one of her immigrant 'pets' has any regrets ? Arrogant *****.

[Khun Han]

No regrets, but she's using the EU to force a lot of the migrants onto countries that don't want them .

[Krataiboy]

Yeah, but.. . 

 

Germany has achieved through its membership of the EU what it failed to attain in two wars - total domination of Europe. Its big problem is a pathetically low birthrate which means floods of migrant workers are required feed its greedy, ever-expanding economy.

 

It matters not to short-time thinkers, which the vast majority of career politicians tend to be, whether the human grist for the industrial mill is going to create social or cultural problems.

 

Why should Merkyl care if, by the time she is kicking up daisies, Germany has morphed into the most powerful Islamic state in the world? 

Edited August 28, 2017 by Krataiboy

[overherebc]

5 hours ago, Jonnapat said:

At least she showed compassion for people in real trouble and should be applauded for that.

The German economy has not suffered and it's only the racist bigots who object to this assistance..

My country ,the UK has done very little in this respect and for that they should feel shame 

Tell that to the relatives of the people murdered by stabbings, bombings, shootings and being driven over by members of the the religion of peace.

Yes there are some genuine refugees but in my mind most, are just in for the benefits that they wouldn't work for even if given the chance.

When you see the camps with refugees in ME countries they seem to be populated by women and children, very few few young men. The younger men make up the vast majority of illegal immigrants who think they are entitled to everything they want and feel they need.

Probably Merkel was seeing in her mind the women and children and being a politician couldn't see further than the end of her bank balance.

At my advanced time of life I am quite happy that the rest of my time will be ok for me and I don't have any kids to worry about. I 'might' get another 10 years and might see the start of the end.

The place ( world ) is going to hell in a basket and the whole thing has started ( 2000 years ago ) because of religious differences

As Napolean said, religious wars are just people fighting over who has the best immaginary friend.

Did Merkel believe her actions would get her a bigger voter base because 'they' would arrive and adopt the religions of the EU or what?

You tell me!

[impulse]

11 hours ago, inThailand said:

Who cares about your political cost!

How about the costs to your fellow countrymen?

 

I'm betting she's living in a gated community with covert machine gun towers on the wall.  And that's her summer place...

 

[overherebc]

31 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I'm betting she's living in a gated community with covert machine gun towers on the wall.  And that's her summer place...

 

The Egret's nest??

[bedouin1990]

Merkel  and the Leftists understand that with very low birth rates by Germans, they need to increase the population and bet that the immigrants will someday become taxpayers. This is a familiar socialist ploy. Someone must fund the continuing welfare state.

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, bedouin1990 said:

Merkel  and the Leftists understand that with very low birth rates by Germans, they need to increase the population and bet that the immigrants will someday become taxpayers. This is a familiar socialist ploy. Someone must fund the continuing welfare state.

The problem being she has attracted parasites who want all the benefits of the welfare state without putting anything in and most of the misguided lefties and PC advocates are of the same ilk. Dare I say their thinking is on the lines of I didn't ask to be born so it must be someone elses problem to look after me.

[Scott]

Conspiracy post removed.  

 

[tomacht8]

Merkel has no regrets over refugee policy despite political cost
Shame on you.
The people were told that the stay of the war refugees is only temporary as soon as their emergency is over.
In fact, she is practicing naturalization through the back door.

 

[hawker9000]

Yeah, and she also thinks the Iran deal should serve as a model for dealing with Korea.  Not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, is she?

 

[baboon]

On 28/08/2017 at 11:10 PM, Scott said:

Conspiracy post removed.  

 

You do know that whoever posted the conspiracy theory will now think you are in on it...? ?

[Scott]

1 hour ago, baboon said:

You do know that whoever posted the conspiracy theory will now think you are in on it...? ?

Ah, but I am and I have stocks in the tin-foil hat factory!

 

[USPatriot]

She is a traitor and has blood on her hands for a lot of dead citizens

[JHolmesJr]

hopefully she will be voted out and can join hillary in throwing rocks from the sidelines.

[nausea]

And, of course, she has no regrets about the consequences of her little deal with Erdogan to stem the resulting flood; best of mates, those two, all flowers and champagne init.