Merkel Coalition Rift Deepens As Ally Demands Cap On Migrants

The chief ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded that there be a set cap on migrants per year or he will refuse to campaign with her for next year’s federal election.

The coalition of German Chancellor Angela Merkel could be facing the brink of disaster as her chief ally and coalition partner Horst Seehofer may choose not to campaign with her next year during the federal election.

Mr. Seehofer, who is the Prime Minister of Bavaria and the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), has demanded that the government cap the number of yearly migrants at 200,000 and claims he will not budge on the issue reports Der Spiegel.

Seehofer told the magazine that he would only support the 2017 election campaign of Ms. Merkel if the migrant policy was changed, saying that a change of direction was needed to win back the hearts and minds of supporters. Many voters have been abandoning the two parties for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), as recent election data shows.

This is by no means the first time Seehofer has come to blows with the policy of Ms. Merkel. Seehofer announced some weeks ago that Merkel would not be invited to the CSU party conference in December due to their growing differences in how the migrant crisis should be handled.

The CSU leader claimed that Merkel’s presence at the conference would not be the best way to resolve their differences but was confident they could come to an agreement on policy.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble of the Chrsitian Democratic Union (CDU), said that he was confident the two leaders could come to an understanding over the migrant issue. According to him the differences between the two leaders were minimal and he expected them to be solved in the near future.

Aside from the anti-mass migration AfD, the CSU have been the only major critic of the policies of Angela Merkel in regards to the migrant crisis. The CSU have distanced themselves from their sister party after Seehofer threatened to sue Merkel via the constitutional courts over securing the borders and was met with a letter telling him nothing would happen.

Earlier this month the CSU released a new document full of policy proposals that many say are inspired by the AfD’s platform that was released earlier this year in Stuttgart.  The Bavarian party has demanded not only a 200,000 person cap on migration but also priority for migrants from Christian countries which was met with resistance by the rest of the ruling German coalition.