WHAT a difference a month makes. On the night of September 4th Angela Merkel made the most dramatic decision of her decade as German chancellor: to suspend European asylum rules and allow tens of thousands of refugees stranded in Hungary to enter Germany via Austria. It was a moral gesture that fitted the mood of the moment. As The Economist went to press, Mrs Merkel was considered a favourite to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
In Germany, however, that altruistic embrace has caused a backlash that could weaken a chancellor so far considered all but invincible. Using uncharacteristically missionary language, Mrs Merkel said repeatedly that the right to asylum has “no upper limit”. But Joachim Gauck, who as president is expected to keep out of workaday politics, responded that “our reception capacity is limited even when it has not yet been worked out where these limits lie.” As though on cue, the political tone turned against Mrs Merkel.
The numbers are dramatic. More than 200,000 migrants are believed to have arrived in Germany in September alone. For the year, official forecasts had already risen in...Continue reading
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