09 December 2016

Germans see refugees as biggest problem despite falling numbers

.... a survey by pollster Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for broadcaster ZDF found 58 percent of Germans deem refugees and integration the most important problems facing Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity has waned since migrants started arriving in large numbers last summer and she expects next year's federal election, in which she plans to run for a fourth term, to be "tough like no other".

Merkel, whose conservatives have lost support to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, hardened her stance on migrants' integration in Germany at a congress this week and her Christian Democrats (CDU) passed a resolution on tackling forced marriage and honor killings, and cracking down on dual citizenship. [Reuters] Read more