{"id":373101,"date":"2025-08-25T19:40:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T19:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/373101\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T19:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T19:40:11","slug":"angela-merkels-legacy-under-scrutiny-in-a-germany-gripped-by-distrust-and-a-rising-far-right-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/373101\/","title":{"rendered":"Angela Merkel\u2019s legacy under scrutiny in a Germany gripped by distrust and a rising far-right \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like Edith Piaf, Angela Merkel<\/a> regrets nothing. That is how the ex-chancellor views Germany<\/a>\u2019s refugee and asylum crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Exactly 10 years ago, with pressure building on Germany\u2019s borders, a passing remark by Merkel at a press conference defined her legacy and shifted Germany\u2019s political landscape forever.<\/p>\n

Pressed by journalists to explain why she had suspended EU asylum rules, and how Germany would cope with rising migration pressures, Merkel said: \u201cWir schaffen das.\u201d It can be translated to mean \u201cwe\u2019ll manage this\u201d.<\/p>\n

With its aspirational, can-do optimism, it was a very un-German thing to say. Yet it captured the moment and inspired many Germans to roll up their sleeves and meet an unprecedented humanitarian challenge with pragmatism, humanity and grace.<\/p>\n

Streams of people arriving \u2013 often on foot, from Syria<\/a>, Afghanistan<\/a>, northern Africa and beyond \u2013 were greeted with food, clothing, toys and a bed for the night.<\/p>\n

In a television documentary on Monday evening, Merkel reproached herself for not spotting earlier Europe\u2019s building crisis. In her mind, that allowed Hungarian leader Viktor Orban<\/a> to \u201cuse, almost toy with people in need\u201d and steer them en masse towards Austria and Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was clearly going to be a big challenge,\u201d she added, arguing that Germany had \u2013 by and large \u2013 passed the humanitarian test with flying colours. \u201cWe have managed a lot and what we have yet to manage has to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

For her many critics, however, Merkel\u2019s decision \u2013 to allow in asylum seekers and economic migrants alike \u2013 triggered an unforgivable loss of control that remains palpable today. On Sunday, the night before the Merkel documentary aired, a 21-year-old US citizen was slashed in the face by two men in the eastern city of Dresden.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Friedrich Merz\u2019s first 100 days in office: Furious allies and disastrous pollsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Local police say the two men were harassing female tram passengers at about 12.30am when the American intervened. One of the two suspects, a 21-year-old Syrian national with a criminal record for robbery and grievous bodily harm, was apprehended near the scene. The other suspect remains at large.<\/p>\n

\u201cBloody hell,\u201d was the New York Post\u2019s tabloid headline over its report on the attack. In Germany, the incident was reported with shame, but not shock. As this week\u2019s anniversary looms, two high-profile trials linked to \u201cwir schaffen das\u201d are ongoing. Syrian and Afghan defendants are accused of stabbing to death four people, including a police officer, and seriously injuring many more.<\/p>\n

\n

One in two Germans now claim to no longer feel safe in public<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The anniversary has prompted memories, too, of how the migration summer gave way to a darker winter: sexual harassment of at least 1,200 women at New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations in Cologne and, a year later, Berlin\u2019s Christmas market attack with 12 lives lost. A series of copycat attacks followed.<\/p>\n

A common denominator in these and many other attacks: young men who arrived in Germany post-2015, some of whom were radicalised and remained even after their asylum applications were refused. <\/p>\n

One in two Germans now claim to no longer feel safe in public. Yet, pressed about the consequences of her 2015 decision, Merkel conceded only that \u201cas a result, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) got stronger\u201d. <\/p>\n

A decade ago, the AfD was sliding into obscurity. This week, one leading AfD official described Merkel\u2019s \u201cwir schaffen das\u201d remark \u2013 and subsequent concerns of German people over migration \u2013 as \u201cthe party\u2019s second coming\u201d.<\/p>\n

For German forensic psychologist Frank Urbaniok, the AfD remains strong because its rivals are more anxious to avoid the racism label than address voter concerns on migration, whether real or perceived.<\/p>\n

In his controversial new book, The Shadowy Side of Migration, Urbaniok argues that Germany\u2019s migration debate, a decade on, has too many taboos and too little honesty.<\/p>\n

He argues, for instance, that new arrivals \u2013 regardless of education, integration and opportunities \u2013 remain shaped by \u201ccultural-specific imprints\u201d of their homeland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe conduct many [migration] discussions with an ideologically polarised approach. As if there were either no problems at all \u2013 or nothing but problems,\u201d said Urbaniok. Refusing to acknowledge the grey tones between the black-and-white migration debate extremes, he added, \u201conly empower the [political] fringes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Following closely his arguments, and other critical voices in the migration debate, is Germany\u2019s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU). <\/p>\n

A decade on, it has disowned the Merkel migration line it once embraced. And since returning to office in May, the CDU-led government has worked quickly to impose border checks, expedite deportations and tackle welfare fraud among migrants.<\/p>\n

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticised Merkel\u2019s decisions for, in hindsight, overwhelming local authorities and created a cascade of ongoing problems. In star contrast to his predecessor, Merz said: \u201cNo we haven\u2019t managed it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like Edith Piaf, Angela Merkel regrets nothing. That is how the ex-chancellor views Germany\u2019s refugee and asylum crisis.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[13402,2000,299,1824,5804],"class_list":{"0":"post-373101","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-angela-merkel","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-germany","12":"tag-migrant-crisis"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}