Angela Merkel faces a delicate balancing act on migration ahead of key state elections

Elections will be held in the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt on 13 March 2016, with some commentators viewing the elections as an effective vote of confidence on Angela Merkel’s policy on refugees. Nitzan Shoshan assesses the political response to the incidents which took place in Cologne and other German cities on New Year’s eve, 31 December 2015. He states that while some of the issues raised by political actors, such as reforming Germany’s laws on sexual assault, are undoubtedly justified, there is a danger of mainstream parties inadvertently legitimising the narratives of the German far-right.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: German right-leaning AfD leader calls for police right to shoot at refugees http://www.europeansources.info/record/german-right-leaning-afd-leader-calls-for-police-right-to-shoot-at-refugees/

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

ESO: Background information: German coalition approves tighter asylum rules http://www.europeansources.info/record/german-coalition-approves-tighter-asylum-rules/

ESO: Background information: The rise of the AfD after Cologne poses a serious challenge for Merkel’s policy on refugees http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-rise-of-the-afd-after-cologne-poses-a-serious-challenge-for-merkels-policy-on-refugees/

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