I have long been a huge fan of German Chancellor Angela Merkel until several months ago. In my January 2015 blog, I even named her as the future President of the United States of Europe. Both feelings are gone now. Today Ms Merkel could even win a prize for dismantling Europe and her 2017 chances for re-election decrease every day. Both due to the ongoing refugee crisis.
Speaking on a talkshow on Germany’s ARD TV channel, Ms Merkel said she could “understand” a recent poll which showed 81 per cent believed her government had lost control of the migrant crisis. But she rejected the proposal backed by many in Germany to introduce an upper limit on migration. There was no point, she said, in making a promise she couldn’t keep. “I have no plan B,” she said. “There’s no sense in working on two [plans] at the same time.” A quote from FT 28 Feb 2016.
The unemployment in all European countries (see Eurostat table) is (much) higher than in Germany. The EU average is 11.6% compared to only 5.0% in Germany.
Other European countries struggle – and mostly fail – to mirror the German economic miracle.
Given this Eurostat table on unemployment rates, Germany probably needs young labour migrants in order to fulfil future German jobs.
Perhaps young male Arabic refugees could fulfil these German jobs if they would successfully integrate in German society. Since the 1960s, Germany has also become the home for nearly 3 million Turkish people (Wiki).
The German Chancellor is entitled to decide on what is best for Germany. However, she cannot decide for herself what is in Europe’s best interests. Perhaps she is confusing her (future) role. FT: Ms Merkel criticised the Austrian action, saying Greece had been let down. “We didn’t keep Greece in the euro in order to leave it in the lurch like that,” she said. “That is not my Europe.” And I would like to add: indeed it’s not!
In my view, it’s even sheer ridiculous that Ms Merkel has the guts in asking for European solidarity to resettle German refugees to other European countries while she is the one who – at the very least – accelerated the European refugee crisis by what is now called her “open-door refugee policy”.
In order to avoid total chaos in Europe, including an immense humanitarian refugee crisis on the Greek islands, there is only one drastic option left to Europe: to revoke the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees. Else we are heading for a European suicide. Ms Merkel has been able to dismantle 65 years of European integration in less than 12 months.
Vaya Con Dios – Heading For A Fall (1992) – artists, lyrics, Wiki
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