KARLSRUHE, Germany, Dec 14 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her refugee policies at a congress of her conservative party on Monday, fending off a challenge from critics with a pledge to reduce the influx of migrants and a repeat of her optimistic mantra “we can do this”.
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At a pivotal party congress of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Merkel said Germany would pursue a range of measures to stanch the flow of asylum seekers, slated to number around one million people this year.
Merkel was speaking at a congress of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in Karlsruhe, western Germany.
Dr Merkel also warned that Europe has not yet overcome the euro zone crisis and mistakes made by the founders of the currency project still need to be addressed.
Germany is divided roughly down the middle by the refugee issue and the CDU has grown jittery as disaffection has given a boost to the right-wing populist AfD party, which has soared to 10 percent in some polls.
“Those who seek refuge with us also have to respect our laws and traditions, and learn to speak German”, she said. The CDU leader then nailed her political future to succeeding in the refugee crisis, likening her “we can manage this” refugee crisis mantra to Helmut Kohl’s promise in 1990 of “blossoming landscapes” for eastern Germany and Ludwig Erhard’s 1950s vow of “prosperity for all”.
“No country is as dependent on Schengen as Germany”, she said adding that the area was “of vital importance” for the country.
Over time, Merkel’s tone has shifted from a refusal to set any limits on migration to her private statements to party members in November that she would support limiting immigration.
“We want to, and will, appreciably reduce the number of refugees, because it’s in everyone’s interest”, Merkel said in a confident speech to her Christian Democratic Union that was greeted with a standing ovation.
The speech was also an attempt to silence a growing number of critics within the party who claim that she has lost control of the refugee influx.
Ms Merkel herself has been accused of “not having a plan” for the refugee crisis and at party meetings she was recently confronted by placard waving party members demanding that she resign.
That was enough to persuade the party’s youth wing to withdraw its own motion calling for a limit on refugee numbers. “It sends the right signal and shows that the CDU takes the concerns of local authorities seriously”, he said.
In the event, she laid the debate to rest a few minutes into her keynote speech. “I have full trust in her because I have full trust in her diplomatic skills to find a solution to this”.
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“Ten years ago things were not good”, she said.
