Angela Merkel has faced a furious backlash over her open-doors policy on immigration after the deadly lorry attack on a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin. A 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker named as Naved B, who entered the country under a false name, murdered 12 and injured dozens gathered at the market last night.



German chancellor Merkel, 62, has come under huge political pressure for allowing nearly a million people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa to arrive in the country this year and last. And last night she faced anger from the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party with prominent member Marcus Pretzell tweeting: 'When will the German state of law strike back? When will this cursed hypocrisy finally stop? These are Merkel's dead! #Nice #Berlin.'



Merkel has so far refused to amend her refugee policy, however, insisting that Germany can take in large numbers of migrants in the years to come. Allies and critics alike say she ignored the warning signs of calamity at her peril.



The rape and murder of a beautiful young student in the city of Freiburg in October by a 17-year-old migrant was bad for her. What happened in Berlin is a catastrophe and one which she may find difficult to survive.

In the wake of the Brexit vote in Britain and the recent Italian referendum, and with national elections looming in 2017 in the Netherlands, France, and Germany, there is concern that Europe may be inundated by a populist wave, driven in large part by right-wing parties exploiting anti-globalization, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim sentiments. Indeed, the strategy seems to be working: Polls show that people who have a favorable view of the National Front (FN) in France, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Germany, and the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands tend to be more negative about immigrants, refugees, and Muslims than their fellow countrymen. In addition, they are more euro-skeptic and more wary of globalization than their compatriots....



The Dutch election is scheduled for March 2017. The French election will take place in April and May. The German election will likely be held in September. It is too early to know how their respective right-wing populist parties will fare. But based on current public opinion data, it seems that they have succeeded in rallying substantial numbers of potential voters, based on appeals to anti-immigrant, anti-EU, and anti-globalization sentiments. These views are not, for the most part, majority views among the general public. But significant minorities do share some of these opinions. But the impact of the rise of the right-wing populist parties can already be seen. Center-right politicians such as Merkel and Fillion have begun to espouse views that are more anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant than heard before by politicians in their elevated positions running for national office. Populist appeals are resonating with more and more voters in Europe. And the Brexit and U.S. election outcomes suggest we may not have yet seen the high water mark of this international tide.

It's official. Angela Merkel is the worst German chancellor since Adolf Hitler:Pretzell is right. Merkel is absolutely to blame for the 12 dead in Berlin. At least Hitler had the decency to shoot himself. Merkel not only hasn't resigned, the idiot woman seriously believes she deserves another term.And while "Europe's far-right anger is moving mainstream," the rise of the Nationalist Right has not reached its high-water mark . It hasn't even seriouslyyet. It won't have reached the high-water mark until the Reconquesta 2.0 is complete and Europe has been restored.

Labels: EU, immigration