Immigration Standoff Shakes Merkel’s Fragile Government German chancellor’s veto of plan by interior minister to control and reduce illegal migration angers conservatives in her coalition By Bojan Pancevski
https://www.wsj.com/articles/immigration-standoff-shakes-merkels-fragile-government-1528912541
BERLIN—A rebellion over immigration in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc is threatening the stability of her fragile coalition.
Ms. Merkel’s weekend decision to veto a plan by her interior minister aimed at controlling and reducing illegal migration—and the minister’s refusal to back down—has shattered an uneasy truce between conservative backers and opponents of her liberal asylum policy.
At issue is one measure in a 63-point action plan by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer —one that would instruct border police to turn back migrants found to have applied for asylum in other countries of the European Union’s border-free area.
After Ms. Merkel opposed the measure, Mr. Seehofer, in a rare revolt by a minister against the head of the German government, on Tuesday canceled the planned presentation of his plan, declaring the measure integral to any attempt at bringing illegal immigration under control.
There appeared to be few avenues left on Wednesday for Mr. Seehofer other than to compromise or resign—an unprecedented break in the conservative movement that would leave the government without a parliamentary majority.
The standoff has reignited a dispute that erupted in 2015 when Ms. Merkel opened the country’s borders to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers, some of whom had become stranded in Eastern Europe. About 1.4 million entered the country in the wake of her decision and while the flow has slowed, around 10,000 continue to stream in each month.
The chancellor’s open-door policy came close to tearing her conservative movement apart and the split was only mended after Mr. Seehofer, then governor of Bavaria and the chancellor’s most vocal in-house critic, agreed to join her new government in March. CONTINUE AT SITE
Comments are closed.
