Like Edith Piaf, Angela Merkel regrets nothing. That is how the ex-chancellor views Germany’s refugee and asylum crisis.
Exactly 10 years ago, with pressure building on Germany’s borders, a passing remark by Merkel at a press conference defined her legacy and shifted Germany’s political landscape forever.
Pressed by journalists to explain why she had suspended EU asylum rules, and how Germany would cope with rising migration pressures, Merkel said: “Wir schaffen das.” It can be translated to mean “we’ll manage this”.
With its aspirational, can-do optimism, it was a very un-German thing to say. Yet it captured the moment and inspired many Germans to roll up their sleeves and meet an unprecedented humanitarian challenge with pragmatism, humanity and grace.
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Streams of people arriving – often on foot, from Syria, Afghanistan, northern Africa and beyond – were greeted with food, clothing, toys and a bed for the night.
In a television documentary on Monday evening, Merkel reproached herself for not spotting earlier Europe’s building crisis. In her mind, that allowed Hungarian leader Viktor Orban to “use, almost toy with people in need” and steer them en masse towards Austria and Germany.
“It was clearly going to be a big challenge,” she added, arguing that Germany had – by and large – passed the humanitarian test with flying colours. “We have managed a lot and what we have yet to manage has to be done.”
For her many critics, however, Merkel’s decision – to allow in asylum seekers and economic migrants alike – triggered an unforgivable loss of control that remains palpable today. On Sunday, the night before the Merkel documentary aired, a 21-year-old US citizen was slashed in the face by two men in the eastern city of Dresden.
[ Friedrich Merz’s first 100 days in office: Furious allies and disastrous pollsOpens in new window ]
Local police say the two men were harassing female tram passengers at about 12.30am when the American intervened. One of the two suspects, a 21-year-old Syrian national with a criminal record for robbery and grievous bodily harm, was apprehended near the scene. The other suspect remains at large.
“Bloody hell,” was the New York Post’s tabloid headline over its report on the attack. In Germany, the incident was reported with shame, but not shock. As this week’s anniversary looms, two high-profile trials linked to “wir schaffen das” are ongoing. Syrian and Afghan defendants are accused of stabbing to death four people, including a police officer, and seriously injuring many more.
One in two Germans now claim to no longer feel safe in public
The anniversary has prompted memories, too, of how the migration summer gave way to a darker winter: sexual harassment of at least 1,200 women at New Year’s Eve celebrations in Cologne and, a year later, Berlin’s Christmas market attack with 12 lives lost. A series of copycat attacks followed.
A common denominator in these and many other attacks: young men who arrived in Germany post-2015, some of whom were radicalised and remained even after their asylum applications were refused.
One in two Germans now claim to no longer feel safe in public. Yet, pressed about the consequences of her 2015 decision, Merkel conceded only that “as a result, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) got stronger”.
A decade ago, the AfD was sliding into obscurity. This week, one leading AfD official described Merkel’s “wir schaffen das” remark – and subsequent concerns of German people over migration – as “the party’s second coming”.
For German forensic psychologist Frank Urbaniok, the AfD remains strong because its rivals are more anxious to avoid the racism label than address voter concerns on migration, whether real or perceived.
In his controversial new book, The Shadowy Side of Migration, Urbaniok argues that Germany’s migration debate, a decade on, has too many taboos and too little honesty.
He argues, for instance, that new arrivals – regardless of education, integration and opportunities – remain shaped by “cultural-specific imprints” of their homeland.
“We conduct many [migration] discussions with an ideologically polarised approach. As if there were either no problems at all – or nothing but problems,” said Urbaniok. Refusing to acknowledge the grey tones between the black-and-white migration debate extremes, he added, “only empower the [political] fringes”.
Following closely his arguments, and other critical voices in the migration debate, is Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
A decade on, it has disowned the Merkel migration line it once embraced. And since returning to office in May, the CDU-led government has worked quickly to impose border checks, expedite deportations and tackle welfare fraud among migrants.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticised Merkel’s decisions for, in hindsight, overwhelming local authorities and created a cascade of ongoing problems. In star contrast to his predecessor, Merz said: “No we haven’t managed it.”
