General Discussion

Angela Merkel’s domestic security crisis
Cologne attacks ‘changed everything’ in German perceptions of migrants.
By MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG 1/10/16, 11:18 PM CET
http://www.politico.eu/article/angela-merkel-domestic-security-crisis-cologne-refugees-debate-criminals-protests/

BERLIN — For months, many Germans have worried that the exodus of refugees into their country would upend their comfortable existence, straining state coffers and public services. Now, they worry something even more dear is at stake: their safety.

In the wake of the New Year’s Eve attacks on hundreds of women by foreigners in Cologne and other cities, Angela Merkel’s greatest challenge has shifted from convincing Germans they can shoulder the burden of more than 1 million newcomers to reassuring her citizens she can keep them safe.

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The cover of the weekly Der Spiegel, which hit newsstands on Saturday, carried a fuzzy picture of the chaos on the square under the headline: “Germany on the Brink.”

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At a meeting of the CDU’s executive board in Mainz over the weekend, Merkel and other party leaders were told the mood among the party base over the refugee crisis had hit a new low. The attacks changed “everything,” said Volker Bouffier, CDU chief in the state of Hesse.

You're right, if Germany goes hard right the EU will be in turmoil. And influence the US. It's just one of the reasons I think it's worth paying attention.