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Writing in a column in The Times, Mr Ferguson warned that Mrs Merkel’s decision, which he claimed was made after a young Palestinian refugee had broken down in tears in front of her, may come back to haunt her as she struggles to form a viable coalition Government.



The historian described the German Chancellor's policy u-turn as “the single biggest error in the history of the post-war German republic”.



Mr Ferguson said: “Faced with Reem Sahwil’s tears, the chancellor’s reaction was an impulsive attempt to comfort her, followed by a massive, unilateral u-turn, which she later had to reverse.”



Since the start of 2015, the number of people seeking asylum in Germany has rise sharply, with the country having receive 1.38million initial applications.



Of this figure, a third of whom are Syrians, three-quarters are aged 30 or under and 60per cent are male.



And Mr Ferguson warned the mother of Europe could have made the mother of all mistakes in her attempts to appeal to the left and please her conservative party.



Mr Ferguson said: “The political backlash has only just begun, but already it has transformed the German political landscape.



“In last year’s election, the anti-immigration party know as Alternative for Germany came third with 12.6per cent of the vote. The latest polls have it on 15per cent and rising.

GETTY Angela Merkel may pay a price for her 'error' over asylum seekers, says historian Niall Ferguson

'Merkel’s fans like to call her 'Mutti'– 'Mummy'. Well, this was the Mutti of all political blunders.' Historian Professor Niall Ferguson

“Merkel’s fans like to call her 'Mutti'– 'Mummy'. Well, this was the Mutti of all political blunders.”



Mrs Merkel, who leads the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, is currently trying to cling to power by forming a coalition government with the Socialist Democratic Party (SPD), currently led by acting chairman Olaf Scholz following the resignation of Martin Schulz earlier this month.



The deal is yet to be ratified by the SPD’s rank and file members, and Mr Ferguson said there were no guarantees that it would be.



Writing for The Times, Mr Ferguson: “The SPD’s decision depends on a postal vote of all 463,000 members between February 20 and March 2.

GETTY Professor Niall Ferguson believes Germans may punish Mrs Merkel for her decision

GETTY Asylum seeker Remi Sahwil famously cried in front of Mrs Merkel in 2015