Quadriga: Refugee Chaos - "Mama Merkel‘s" downfall? | Quadriga

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has won international kudos for her response to the refugee crisis. However, more and more members of her own party are calling for Germany’s asylum law to be made more restrictive.

Interior minister Thomas de Maizière has sparked consternation in Germany with recent remarks favoring a tougher asylum law. His views contradict the chancellor’s avowed policies. De Maizière is opposed, for instance, to Syrian refugees automatically being granted asylum status or being joined by their families. His objections have received backing from the leader of the Bavarian conservatives, Horst Seehofer, and finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

Is Chancellor Merkel still on top in the refugee crisis? And how much support does she have in her own party?

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Our guests:

Erik Kirschbaum is an American journalist from New York. He works for the “Reuters” news agency in Berlin. He thinks: "The turmoil in Merkel's party about its direction on the treatment of refugees raises questions about possible intrigues behind the scenes in the CDU."

Andreas Kluth is Bureau Chief and Germany Correspondent for the british weekly newspaper “The Economist” in Berlin. He says: “Critics are wrong to assume that Angela Merkel is about to be toppled. She remains the dominant figure of her party in Germany and in Europe.”

Corinna Emundts is correspondent for the ARD and online coordinator for “tagesschau.de”. She says: “It is absolutely unclear, whether Merkel will keep her power. Although she showed determination in an emergency situation she has made many mistakes on the national and international level.”