“Merkel is still here”: Former Chancellor refocuses party on migration policy
The former German leader has repeatedly attacked the harsh immigration policy implemented by the government of conservative Friedrich Merz. For the German press, this is a matter of both defending humanist values and preserving her heritage.
On July 1 , in the courtyard of Schwerin Castle in northern Germany, Angela Merkel spoke forcefully during a panel discussion organized by the local newspaper Ostsee-Zeitung . The woman who led the Federal Republic for sixteen years before retiring from political life is not returning “neither to the government nor to the chancellery, but rather to the opposition,” assures the Berliner Zeitung , but she spoke to discuss the country's reception policy. And paradoxically, her attacks are aimed at “her own party.”
Currently in power in Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its social democratic partners are tightening the screws on migration. “Chancellor Friedrich Merz now talks about repatriation, border control, and putting an end to family reunification.” This strategy differs greatly from the reception policy implemented by the former German leader during the 2015 refugee crisis. “Merz never liked her line, and today he embodies the opposite policy – not just in words, but also in deeds.”
For several months now, “Merz and Merkel are engaged in a real long-distance duel,” believes the centrist weekly Der Spiegel . Especially since Friedrich Merz agreed at the beginning of the year to
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