Migration Starts Moving European Politics

After an initial period of acquiesce and even welcoming, the massive and seemingly unstoppable wave of refugees from the Middle East, Afghanistan and North Africa is producing political backlash in Europe.

Angela Merkel, the popular German chancellor, has lost 10 points from her stellar 65 percent approval rating in the last month. Her initial open door policy is being overwhelmed by 10,000 migrants a day entering Germany and her Christian Democrat Union Party, at least at the grassroots, is in revolt.

Merkel is not alone in feeling the backlash as other European governments are seeing a rise in anti-migrant politics.

A recently published global survey conducted by Gallup shows that about a third of the public opinion in the nations of the world are in favor of decreasing immigration in their country. More than half of the public in European nations are in favor. In fact, Europe is more resistant to immigrants than North America.

Excerpt from executive summary of global survey on immigration:

European residents appear to be, on average, the most negative globally towards immigration, with the majority believing immigration levels should be decreased. However, there is a sharp divergence in opinions among residents in Northern and Southern Europe. The majority of adults in Northern European countries – except for those in the United Kingdom – would like immigration levels to either stay the same or increase, while most residents in Southern European countries would prefer to have lower levels of immigration to their countries. More broadly, residents in less than half of the 40 countries in the larger European region are more likely to favour decreased immigration levels than the same or higher levels.

See:
Business Insider; This report proves that Britain is overwhelmingly anti-immigration and it could prompt Brexit
Telegraph: German MPs ‘drawing up plans’ to close borders in challenge to Merkel’s refugee policy
Xinhuanet: Anti-immigrant Pegida supports, opponents rally in Dresden
New York Times: Pressure grows on Merkel as strain from refugees increases
Washington Post: Behind Sweden’s warm welcome for refugees, a backlash is brewing
Washington Post: Think the United States is anti-immigration? It has nothing on Europe.
Breitbart: Financial Times: The end of the Merkel era is within sight
The Guardian: The observer view Europe’s lurch to the right