Angela Merkel, the refugee’s best friend, could be out of power in Germany within a week after parts of her coalition are considering withdrawing, leaving her without enough votes to remain the head of Germany.
German interior minister Horst Seehofer has been clashing with Merkel over their open borders policies that she reconfirmed last week. Sources say if things are not resolved by next week, Germany will have a new chancellor but no one is willing or able to say who that would be. Open borders have become a major issue in Germany as refugees continue to commit sex and other crimes in large numbers.
Mr Seehofer, of the Christian Social Union (CSU), has often voiced his hostility towards Mrs Merkel’s open border policy, which brought more than a million refugees in the country in 2015.
He pushed for police forces to have the power to turn away undocumented migrants at the border if they are already registered in another European Union country.
But Mrs Merkel opposes to such measure and has held emergency talks with members of her party to look for support.
Despite them pledging to back her, her MPs are also demanding a change in Germany’s “open-door” migration policy.
And CSU MPs already declared they will support their leader, Mr Seehofer.
The rift puts Mrs Merkel in an awkward situation as she is facing a serious challenge to her authority which could limit her ability to negotiate with other EU state members.
If the CSU pulls out of the coalition, Merkel has no other party capable of giving her enough votes to retain her chancellorship. It remains to be seen who could put together a coalition able to rule the country.