Germany - Immigration Backlash Erodes Merkel In Polls As AfD Gains

A day before German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Brussels to have a meeting with the 27 other heads of state of the EU on the hot topic of immigration, the nation’s leading magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ (the mirror) commissioned a national poll of which the result showed just how much the infighting within CDU-CSU is costing them.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As Angela Merkel&#39;s power drains, the threat to Europe grows <a href="https://t.co/LnOZhriULN">https://t.co/LnOZhriULN</a> <a href="https://t.co/f6V0z48S6S">pic.twitter.com/f6V0z48S6S</a></p>&mdash; Bloomberg (@business) <a href="https://twitter.com/business/status/1011847172034351104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Ms. Merkel’s conservative party dipped below the psychologically significant 30 percent mark in a further indication that the dispute her CDU and their Bavarian sister party CSU’s head, her new interior minister Mr. Ernst Seehofer, is hurting the bloc’s power.

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/28924-Germany-Government-MP-Admits-Merkel-Could-Be-Out-By-Next-Week-Video

Furthermore, given that the Social Democratic SPD is now only bound to get 18% of the votes, Ms. Merkel’s coalition would, if elections were held in Germany today, not even get a working majority.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The end (of Merkel) is near? Political risks have come back with a vengeance and now even the stability of the German government is being questioned. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mexit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mexit</a> could have significant consequences to the balance of power in Europe. <a href="https://t.co/xqqg5eef1w">https://t.co/xqqg5eef1w</a> <a href="https://t.co/qLY5kaUnKa">pic.twitter.com/qLY5kaUnKa</a></p>&mdash; Jan von Gerich (@JanVonGerich) <a href="https://twitter.com/JanVonGerich/status/1011519503656726530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Even more remarkable is that none of the traditional opposition parties (the Liberals, Greens or (extreme leftwing) Die Linke for example) are able to profit from the dip of Ms. Merkel’s party. Once again, pollsters indicate that the major gains of the government’s infighting crisis would go to the nationalists of AfD (Alternative for Germany), who already were crowned the big winners of last year’s election.

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/29716-EU-Italy-PM-Conte-Slams-Summit-To-Save-Merkel

Seeing the threat on the right, Mr. Seehofer, who faces Bavarian elections for his CSU party in the fall, has told Ms. Merkel’s CDU that his ministry would impose border checks for Germany as from 1 July if she fails to deliver a satisfactory result from the EU summit.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Angela Merkel&#39;s coalition partners hint they could force re-election as leader of the SPD says disagreements over migrant policy are &#39;very tense&#39; <a href="https://t.co/JbvYwSfyfC">https://t.co/JbvYwSfyfC</a></p>&mdash; Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MailOnline/status/1011897685211836417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Mr. Merkel’s coalition partner, the Social Democrats, admitted via their leader Ms. Andrea Nahles that the current governmental impasse was "unsatisfactory," before adding "We don't know how the week will end."

Source:

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/cdu-und-csu-fallen-unter-30-prozent-in-spon-umfrage-a-1215135.html