‘We Can’t Do It’: Majority of Germans Turning Against Merkel
SputnikNews.com
18.01.2016
The prospect of a million more refugees arriving in Germany throughout 2016, coupled with the Cologne sex assaults by men seeking asylum, has led to a majority of Germans turning their back on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “we can do it” refugee policy, according to a recent poll.
A survey carried out by German broadcaster ARD suggests 51 percent of people are against Merkel’s open door policy to refugees amid revelations that hundreds of women suffered attacks and sexual assaults in Germany on New Year’s Eve.
Twenty-two suspects out of 32 men alleged to have been involved in the Cologne attacks are asylum seekers, according to the German Interior Ministry.
Many members of Merkel’s coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) fear the influx of refugees in 2016 will put a strain on the country’s economy. They are also calling for tougher punishments for asylum seekers who commit crimes.
“We can handle the one million who came in 2015, but we won’t be able to handle it if another million come in 2016,” Sigmar Gabriel, head of the SPD party told German broadcaster ZDF.
Feelings towards refugees and asylum seekers have soured since the beginning of the year after the attacks on women on New Year’s Eve. Masked vigilante groups have taken matters into their own hands, marching through Cologne carrying “rapefugees not welcome” placards.
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