Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Pressure Builds on Merkel to Close Borders as Support Slides

Chancellor Angela Merkel

Reuters, 19/01 15:03 CET

By Madeline Chambers

BERLIN (Reuters) – A group of conservative lawmakers urged Angela Merkel to reverse her open-door refugee policy as a poll showed a slide in support for her bloc on Tuesday, raising the stakes for a German chancellor exposed by deep rifts in her right-left coalition.

With three closely watched regional elections looming in March, Merkel is facing the toughest spell of her 10-year chancellorship over her handling of the refugee crisis.

Conservative allies in Bavaria, the entry point for most migrants, are regularly breaking ranks and criticism is also mounting from her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners. Some media have even started to speculate about Merkel’s future.

An INSA poll in Tuesday’s top-selling Bild newspaper showed support for Merkel’s conservative bloc down 2.5 percentage points at 32.5 percent, its lowest since the 2013 election.

It also put the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), which campaigns against refugees, up 1 point at 12.5 percent. 

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Source: Euronews

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