Published December 20, 2024 at 2:40 p.m.
Foreign. In an interview with SVT and other Nordic media, Germany's former Chancellor Angela Merkel openly defends her controversial decision to open the country's borders to millions of Arabs during the asylum chaos of 2015.
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The decision, which according to Merkel was made “in the middle of the night”, has continued to divide Germans and changed the country's political landscape. But Angela Merkel regrets nothing.
– I would have made the same decision today. When people in great need are standing at the door, you have to act with humanity, she says in the interview.
In 2015, Merkel chose to set aside EU asylum rules and let thousands of illegal immigrants, who had reached Hungary with the help of people smugglers, travel on to Germany – even though according to the rules they should have sought asylum in the first EU country they arrived in. The decision gave rise to the now infamous expression “Wir schaffen das” (“We can do it”), which Angela Merkel uttered during an interview in connection with the asylum chaos.
Merkel's policy became a watershed that gave rise to growing criticism, not least from the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. AfD has since strengthened significantly and is today the second largest party in opinion polls ahead of the upcoming new elections.
When asked if her actions contributed to AfD's rise, Merkel replied:
– What would be the alternative: Excluding Greece from the eurozone? Maybe sending water cannons at the refugees? I answered no to both questions.
She believes that even the fierce internal debates among “the democratic parties” (pro-immigration parties, FT's note) may have helped drive voters towards the AfD.
Merkel's reasoning is also reproduced in her recently published biography “Freedom”, where she reflects on her political legacy and the decisions that defined her time as Chancellor.