GETTY Angela Merkel said she would open Germany's borders to migrants all over again

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The German Chancellor said she still backed her decision to allow more than one million migrants to enter Germany since 2015, despite coming under fire for the so-called open doors policy and being relentlessly heckled at recent election events. On the campaign trail Angela Merkel has been booed by protestors furious at her decision to completely open Germany’s borders during the migrant crisis. But a defiant Mrs Merkel, who hopes to secure a record fourth term, says she would do the same again. And she risked further outrage by announcing she will continue to push for the fair distribution of migrants across Europe rather than letting Italy and Greece shoulder the load purely “because of their location”.

This year more than 58,000 migrants have arrived in Italy and 1,569 have died Thu, June 29, 2017 An estimated 230,000 refugees and migrants will arrive in Italy this year as numbers of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous central mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy continues to rise since the same time last year Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 11 Refugees and migrants wait in a small rubber boat to be rescued off Lampedusa, Italy

I'd make all the important decisions of 2015 the same way again Angela Merkel

Today she struck a defiant tone as she vowed she would do things the “same way again” if she could turn back time. In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper Mrs Merkel attacked countries which have not followed Germany's open-door policy. Mrs Merkel said: “I'd make all the important decisions of 2015 the same way again. It was an extraordinary situation and I made my decision based on what I thought was right from a political and humanitarian standpoint. “Those kinds of extraordinary situations happen every once in a while in a country's history. The head of government has to act and I did."

She said more countries should help take in migrants and said it was unfair Italy and Greece were being hit the hardest simply “because of their geography”. Mrs Merkel said: “That some countries refuse to accept any refugees is not on. That contradicts the spirit of Europe. We'll overcome that. It will take time and patience but we will succeed." Her decision to open the borders contributed to a surge in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which pollsters say could win up to 10 per cent in the September election. Mrs Merkel has had to contend with loud and sustained heckling from demonstrators strongly opposed to her migrant policies so far on the campaign trail.

GETTY A poster reading 'Merkel must go' at a recent German election campaign event

GETTY Angela Merkel has defended her decision to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter Germany