Staunch support: Delegates at the CDUfederal party congress. Merkel (inset) won overwhelming party support for her handling of the refugee crisis. — EPA
THE German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in an address to the annual conference of the Christian Democrat party last week, said: “Those who seek refuge with us also have to respect our laws and traditions, and learn to speak German. Multiculturalism leads to parallel societies, and therefore multiculturalism remains a grand delusion.”
Some will find this odd given that Merkel has taken a brave stand in allowing large numbers of refugees – perhaps up to a million – to enter and be welcomed in Germany over the past few months. Of course the plan is that their claims for refuge and asylum will be processed, some may be refused and repatriated, some may stay until there is peace in Syria, but it is not unrealistic to assume that the large majority will become long-term settlers in Germany. Some may even think that her anti-multiculturalist remarks are a sop to her party’s angry right wing, who are opposed to her humanitarian stand.
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