Germany’s New Migrant Crisis Threatens Merkel

Attacks by groups of mainly immigrant men in Cologne on hundreds of people on Dec. 31 have sparked outrage in Germany and fueled debate over the Willkommenskultur (“welcome culture”) toward refugees championed by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Growing tensions have presented Merkel and Germany with fresh challenges:

THE RISING RIGHT

Anti-immigrant sentiment has devolved into open unrest in Cologne since the year began. A march by the antirefugee Pegida movement on Jan. 10 ended in clashes with the police, and gangs have attacked Palestinian and Syrian men. A Pegida rally in Leipzig also led to rioting and 211 arrests.

LEGAL CRACKDOWN

The situation in Cologne, along with news that an Islamist extremist who tried to attack a Paris police station on Jan. 7 had lived in a German refugee shelter, moved Merkel’s government to tighten laws governing refugees. The Chancellor has backed measures that would allow lawbreaking asylum seekers to be deported more easily, but she continues to refuse calls from her rivals and coalition allies to cap refugee numbers this year at 200,000.

FALLING POPULARITY

Merkel’s approval ratings have dropped 17 points since April by one measure, as Germany struggles to resettle the 1.1 million migrants who arrived in 2015. Anxiety over the attacks could bolster the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of local elections on March 13. Although support for Merkel within her CDU party remains steady, a poor showing in March would raise questions about her leadership.

–JULIA ZORTHIAN