Merkel's Bavarian allies row over EU migrant deal

MUNICH / BERLIN (Reuters) – The leadership of Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies brought to a conclusion by the German chancellor of Brussels, heightening uncertainty over the future of the coalition government.

Earlier, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, head of the Christian Social Union's Bavaria (CSU), said he saw no alternative to turning some migrants back to the German border, a party source said, a collision with Merkel.

A weakened Merkel was forced to turn over to European Union neighbors to help resolve a conflict with her allies that could bring her three-month-old coalition.

The CSU is divided over the face of a challenge from the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) in October's regional election, Seehofer and Bavarian first Markus Soeder are both keen to force Merkel to harden her stance on refugees .

Seehofer told the party at the meeting that discussions with Merkel had been fruitless, and that he was adamant that there was no alternative to exclusions at the border, opposed by Merkel.

But others in the party, pointing to opinion polls that Bavarians have more sympathy for Merkel than for the Bavarian politician, warn that closing the party's right flank may make it vulnerable in the center.

There were fresh signs on Sunday that Merkel and Seehofer, entrenched in their positions, may fail to resolve their differences. Seehofer said the matter is also affecting the "credibility" of CSU leaders, party sources said.

Earlier this week, EU Leaders Hammered Out a Deal to share out refugees on a controlled basis.

Merkel said in an interview with ZDF television that it would be more effective than ever before.

She reiterated her determination to act in the sense that it was "not unilateral" and that it was "not to the detriment of third parties" – highlighting her continued opposition to proposals by Seehofer to turn back refugees at the border.

POLITICAL COMMITMENTS

"The sum of all we've agreed is what CSU wants – that's my personal view, but the CSU must decide for themselves," she said.

"It is also sustainable and in agreement with the European ideal. Europe is slow, and we are not yet where we want to be … In my view Europe will be held together, otherwise free movement could have been in danger, "she added.

A document circulated by Merkel to Coalition Allies on Friday night remembrance agreements with 16 countries and proposed reception centers in Germany where migrants would undergo an accelerated asylum procedure – steps that represent a significant hardening of her 2015 open-door asylum policy.

The Czech Republic, Poland Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long been in charge of the continent, later said that they have signed not bilateral agreements.

In the interview, Merkel said she regretted any misunderstandings, but it had been given "political commitments", and had not said any deals had been signed.

Volker Bouffier, premiere of the state of Hessen and Merkel's close ally, said that the CSU should be pleased with what it had achieved in a similarly long-drawn-out meeting of Merkel's Christian Democrats ( CDU) in Berlin.

"Europe has moved further than ever because of the CSU's pressure," he said.

While most analysts expect to survive the CSU, it is unlikely to be the last opportunity to find a home for the rest of the world.

But many in German political circles charge that the row better reflected Seehofer's longstanding rivalry with Soeder, who was unsuccessful as a Bavarian first, accusing them of holding Germany hostage to a Bavarian affair.

"Seehofer, who has almost totally lost power in the CSU, now appears to want to bring back the chancellor in a kind of indirect political suicide. maybe then the country, "wrote the Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper in an editorial.