IT is difficult to argue with Alison Rowat when she states that "what happens in Germany has implications far beyond the country’s borders" ("Merkel is down but do not be too quick to think she is out", The Herald, November 23). Prolonged efforts to create a new coalition government have broken down and there is no doubt that one of the areas of serious disagreement among the parties involved in the negotiations, is the question of migration.
There are those insisting upon a refugee cap, following almost almost a million migrants entering the country in 2015 with many thousands subsequently. Mrs Merkel is not willing to accept a formal cap, at least so far. If there was any doubt about the significance of that question to Germans today, one only has to reflect upon the intervention of the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. It is extremely unusual for such a figure to become involved in domestic politics. In a speech he observed that German policy must be able to distinguish between political refugees and economic migrants so as to "define legal access to Germany".
Mrs Merkel’s motivation in inviting hundreds of thousands to Germany may well have been entirely humanitarian and, in that respect, deserving of admiration. However, there is no doubt that, as a result, her popularity has been diminished, because many Germans has since resented the economic, social, and cultural consequences, which have ensued and they have recorded their dissatisfaction at the ballot box.
The German Chancellor has had a stellar career in German politics and as a leading light in the European Union. Securing a new coalition government in Germany, with so much contention, division, and intransigence, could prove to be one of her major achievements.
Ian W Thomson,
38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel