TIME Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ earned the distinction largely because of her decision to allow thousands of Syrian refugees into Germany. Now, it appears Chancellor Angela Merkel may be regretting her decision.
"At the same time we took on board the concerns of the people, who are worried about the future, and this means we want to reduce, we want to drastically decrease the number of people coming to us," Merkel told the broadcaster ARD.
Merkel followed up this statement at the Christian Democratic Union’s party convention on Monday by remarking on the dangerous consequences of multiculturalism.
"Multiculturalism leads to parallel societies and therefore remains a ‘life lie,’ ” or a sham, she said, before adding that Germany may be reaching its limits in terms of accepting more refugees. "The challenge is immense," she said. "We want and we will reduce the number of refugees noticeably."
The number of refugees pouring into Germany is on track to surpass 1 million. While Merkel was initially opposed to capping the refugee influx and earned the praise of the Nobel Peace board and TIME for her compassion effort, she now realizes her open-door policy may be opened a bit too wide.