Asylum dispute between Seehofer and Merkel: "Such confrontation will not survive this coalition" – foreign countries

Can the government wait until 2021?

After the show that has been demonstrated over the past three weeks, no one can say how long this government will last. Tomorrow, the conflict can begin again – through an event. Once again, such a confrontation does not survive this coalition.

In your opinion, how would the Chancellor react to the energetic procedure of Horst Seehofer?

Well, just like Mr. Seehofer sharpened the situation Options – both led to bad solutions. If Mr Seehofer had acted without an agreement at the border, Mrs Merkel should have sent him away. The end of the government, probably. She opted for option two. Now, it continues, instead of reigning. The fundamental mistake has already happened: the two can alienate as much as the others

Henceforth, asylum seekers already registered in another country of the EU must be housed in closed transit centers and be released within two days. What do you think of the negotiated compromise?

million. Seehofer himself does not know exactly how it should work. The idea is not even coordinated with the Austrian neighbor, where Mr Seehofer wants to reject some of the refugees yes. The concept is not at all indented. Of course, you can not simply imprison refugees in closed transit centers. Where does the legitimacy come from, to say that we lock up these people? They are not criminals. They are people who ask for asylum, that I can not lock up in closed camps. Add to that: Most Bavarian mayors – the majority of them are members of the CSU – are already fighting against such transit centers in their communities. When you hear the statements of CSU management, you better understand the idea behind this policy. The CSU wants to put a signal, it means again and again. But I do not do politics with signals.

In 2015, Chancellor Merkel was still celebrated for her humanitarian gesture towards refugees stranded in Hungary. Has she been forced to take an anti-refugee course through CSU?

Shortly after this gesture in September 2015, Ms. Merkel showed that she does not rely solely on a culture of hospitality but also on a policy of foreclosure and expulsion. The master plan presented by Horst Seehofer mainly concerns foreclosure. Nobody speaks more of those who ask for political asylum. It is supposedly criminal people who come to us to exploit and immigrate to our systems, with the question of how to get rid of them as quickly as possible. The Union has long since moved from center to right in Merkel's migration policy.

In mid-October, the parliament of the Bavarian state is elected. Are you worried that the chaos of the government will explode again if the CSU misses the electoral objectives?

The CSU will miss the absolute majority, ie its electoral target, one way or the other. What consequences will this have for federal politics? The impressions that I have of citizens here in Bavaria are that people want to have law and order, but also a policy with style and decency. They do not want machismo in the style of Horst Seehofer.