The FT reports that Angela Merkel is set for fourth term with a grand coalition. This is good news for Germany and probably Europe. It’s less clear of its impact on the UK and the US. For the UK, it will probably showcase Theresa May‘s naivety that the UK has power to dictate Brexit terms. But Merkel will quickly need to turn her attention to Trump’s threatened trade war.
Thoughts?
Deutsch: Dr. Angela Merkel Bundeskanzlerin der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Vorsitzende der CDU Deutschlands (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is a good read from DW, one of Germany’s leading news agencies. Check it out!
Source: CDU and CSU increase refugee pressure on Merkel and SPD | Germany | DW.COM | 30.11.2015
Reflecting on this article, I had two observations.
Firstly, Germany’s political parties are all concerned about the arrival of refugees but there positions all differ in the detail as to policy response.
Secondly, the article cited that the conservatives produced their “Berlin Declaration” on refugee policy and terrorism. For me it was significant that refugee policy is firmly linked to terrorism.
Germany is, of course, a becon of modern democracy. But one has to wonder whether the German people have yet fully focused on Angela Merkel as the architect of bringing increasing numbers of refugees to Germany? Too often the German people seem to have assumed that ‘Angela knows best’. I wonder if Germany’s politics will change because of refugee policy and terrorism?
Thoughts?
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