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”.
Advertisement
The chancellor, whose popularity has fallen over her handling of the refugee crisis, said the word “limit” did not feature in the CDU’s main resolution, which will be debated at the two-day party congress, which starts Monday in the southern city of Karlsruhe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated on Sunday her refusal to an upper limit on the number of refugees Germany will admit, saying European and global measures are needed to solve the current refugee crisis.
“I am sure it will pass it. Even when what we do is endlessly exhausting”, she assured.
Ms Merkel conceded that overcoming the problems facing Germany, which has accepted over a million migrants in 2015 alone, amounted to a ” giant task”. 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”. “We are ready to show what we are made of”. “We’ll make it, for Germany and for Europe”, she said, using once again the motto – “Wir schaffen das” – she used several time since August. The CDU is united in wanting to curb the number of asylum seekers arriving in Germany, but “precisely on the basis of the concept I’ve been advocating for months”, she said.
Discussing Merkel’s hard year, the comedian lifted up Time’s Person of the Year issue and joked how “Greece wanted to borrow more money”.
Urging her party to believe in itself, she cited Germany’s transformation in the last decade – from sick man to European powerhouse – as proof of what was possible when people embraced change to cope with a huge challenge.
Ms Merkel said she was committed to sharing the burden of the crisis with Germany’s European Union neighbours. “A continuation of the actual inflows would permanently overwhelm the state and society, also in a country like Germany”, she said.
The number of refugees has hit a 20 year high due to the growing list of conflicts.
While sticking to her approach, Ms Merkel underscored her aim of getting refugee numbers down. “We want to noticeably reduce the number of people who come to us, but not through unilateral national measures alone, but by looking at why refugees have to leave their homes in the first place”.
Paul Ziemiak, the youth wing’s leader, claimed the new wording as a victory for his standpoint yesterday and said he had been persuaded to drop his demands for a cap.
Advertisement
Merkel also insisted she took the concerns of the rank-and-file seriously. But not every delegate was wholly enthusiastic.
