German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, head of the CSU, the conservative sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU, has said that migration was the "mother of all political problems" in Germany and one of the principal reasons for waning support for the established parties, German media report.

"Many people now associate their social problems with the issue of migration," he told the Rheinische Post, adding that if Germany didn't change its migration policy, major political parties would continue losing ground. He went on to link the "order of humanity" with balancing the political concerns of migrants and Germans.

Merkel: That's not how I'd put it

Merkel, however, said she would put it differently than her interior minister.

"I say that the question of migration poses challenges," she said in an interview with RTL television, adding that there are problems and success that come with the challenges of migration.

Thousands attend Chemnitz concert against racism #wirsindmehr More than 65,000 people turned out for the #wirsindmehr (literally "we are more") concert in Chemnitz to protest against neo-Nazi violence. Speaking at the start of the show, organizers said they wanted to show there was "no place in Chemnitz for Nazis." The lineup included a mix of local Chemnitz bands and was headlined by one of Germany's most famous punk bands.

Thousands attend Chemnitz concert against racism A response to the far-right The concert came after days of far-right anti-migrant protests took hold of the eastern German city following the death of a 35-year-old German man. Daniel H. was stabbed to death in the early hours of Agust 25, allegedly by a Syrian and an Iraqi national.

Thousands attend Chemnitz concert against racism 'Love instead of hate' Punters waved colorful signs with messages of welcome and love as they walked into the concert. The show opened with a minute of silence in honor of Daniel H., while volunteers collected donations to be split between the victim's family and anti-racism initiatives in Chemnitz.

Thousands attend Chemnitz concert against racism 'You're not alone' The line-up catered for what was a mostly young crowd, with acts including punk act Feine Sahne Fischfilet, rappers Trettman and Marteria & Casper, and indie rockers Kraftklub. "We're not naive. We're not laboring under the illusion that you hold a concert and the world is saved," said Kraftklub singer Felix Brummer. But it's "important to show that you're not alone," he added.

Thousands attend Chemnitz concert against racism Campino in Chemnitz One of Germany's most famous punk bands, Die Toten Hosen, headlined the show. "This is not about the fight between right and left, it's about basic decency," said lead singer Campino. "And it is very important to stop this conduct while it is a snowball and before it becomes an avalanche," he added.



Merkel, who when addressing the more than 1 million refugees coming to Europe in 2015 said, "We can do this," has drawn intense criticism — including from within the conservative coalition she's a part of — over what has been called her open-door policy toward refugees.

Merkel added that protests in Chemnitz showed both people "filled with hate aimed at other people" and "how people stand up to xenophobia and racism."

"It is a tense situation in which, I believe, everyone needs to take a position," she added.

Seehofer, who sparked a major row within the governing coalition earlier this year with his uncompromising stance on migration, had been criticized for not condemning the far-right protests after the killing of a German man in Chemnitz. He was killed after a brawl allegedly involving two asylum-seekers believed to be from Syria and Iraq.

Watch video 26:00 Share The far right: Can Germany defeat its demons? Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/34Qxw The far right: Can Germany defeat its demons?

Not 'blind' to far-right extremism

Seehofer told Rheinische Post that people who do the Hitler salute — like some of the protesters — would be prosecuted and that the CSU party was not blind "in its right eye."

However, he said he could understand why people were upset about the killing and that taking to the streets does not make them Nazis, according to Die Welt newspaper.

He said if he was not a minister, he would have taken to the streets, too, but "obviously not with the radicals," he added.

Merkel, meanwhile, sharply condemned the radical protesters, saying that "we have seen pictures [from Chemnitz] that clearly showed hate and the persecution of innocent people."

Saxony's premier, Michael Kretschmer, however, insisted that there had been no "mobs, hounding or pogroms" in Chemnitz, leading some to accuse him of trivializing far-right extremism in the eastern state.