BERLIN—Political backlash against German chancellor Angela Merkel intensified Friday as her most conservative ally threatened to take the government to court if it doesn’t adopt measures to limit the flow of migrants into Germany.
As the number of migrants flocking to Germany has continued to swell, Merkel’s open-arms policy has exposed a widening rift inside the government over how to tackle the biggest migrant tide Germany has witnessed since WWII.
Merkel has come under fire from Horst Seehofer, prime minister of Bavaria and chairman of the Christian Social Union, the most conservative ally of Merkel’s ruling coalition.
Seehofer has repeatedly lashed out at Merkel since her decision in early September to let migrants stranded in Hungary travel to Germany.
But his latest comments show Seehofer is willing to fight hard to push Ms. Merkel to shift her welcoming policy, which she again defended this week. At the same time, social democratic leaders for the first time warned that unlimited migration isn’t tenable.
“Limiting migration is indispensable. We need a limit so integration can be successful,â€� Seehofer said Friday after Bavaria’s cabinet agreed to a series of measures to tackle migration. The conservative politician then passed on to Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann to deliver the yet strongest affront.
“We agreed that if the federal government does not take effective steps soon to limit the continued flow of asylum seekers … Bavaria reserves the right to file a complaint with the federal constitutional court,â€� Herrmann said.
Merkel’s approval ratings have plunged in the wake of the crisis. Polls show Germans are growing increasingly skeptical of the chancellor’s policies while Seehofer in return has gained points in the political spat.
A new poll conducted for German TV ZDF published Friday showed that 51 percent of Germans believe the country can’t cope with the many migrants, up from 40 percent two weeks ago. More than half of the people said they were dissatisfied with Merkel’s work.
Meanwhile, the number of refugees arriving on Greek islands has leaped to 7,000 a day from about 4,500 at the end of September, probably because of fears the weather will worsen soon, the International Organization for Migration said.
The sharp increase, in a matter of days, has occurred as European states continue to struggle to agree on a strategy to control the flow of people and protect thousands making perilous sea crossings.