Horst Seehofer, leader of Bavaria's Christian Socialists (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and Minister-President of Bavaria has called for a maximum limit of 200,000 refugees to be accepted in 2016.
Bavaria has borne the brunt of the refugee crisis, being the major point of entry from those fleeing war-torn nations, such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, who make their way via Turney and the West Balkan route into German.
"I think, it will be a very good meeting," #Seehofer says about #Merkel's visit at #CSU summit, scheduled for 5pm pic.twitter.com/eJiR9wwojX
— Janosch Delcker (@JanoschDelcker) January 6, 2016
"From our past experience I can say Germany has no problem with an influx of 100,000 or at most 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees fleeing war. This number is manageable and also allows for integration. Anything more than that I think is too much," Seehofer said.
When #Seehofer is all "ya-huh" and #Merkel is all "nuh-uh": https://t.co/7Iwrha9OpR #refugees #refugeeswelcome pic.twitter.com/2UaWDWvx9l
— Beth Schumacher (@ElizSchumacher) January 4, 2016
However, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said: "This is not the chancellor's position," on Monday. "We do not believe that a limit on refugee numbers can be achieved by one country acting alone."
German chancellor Merkel rejects Bavaria PM Seehofer's call for 200k/year cap on refugees. "#Germany will not go its own isolated way".
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) January 4, 2016
Germany originally said it would envisage 600,000 refugees from Syria in 2015, but the number is estimated to have risen to over a million. However, Merkel has constantly refused to put a cap on the number, saying that — constitutionally — Germany's basic right to asylum has no upper limit.
Party Tensions
Merkel has already back-pedaled over her policy of setting up transit zones to house the refugees while being processed, which was opposed by the other coalition party, the SPD, which likened the idea to setting up concentration camps.
Merkel went on to tell her party's annual conference in December that Germany would "drastically decrease" the number of refugees arriving amid criticism over her 'open doors' policy which has led to a million refugees arriving in her country alone.
Although she did not use the phrase "upper limit" Merkel said she would "take on board the concerns people have, but we also want to come up with good responses to the challenges that cause these concerns… and that's our aim."
@YanniKouts Why hypocrite? Seehofer is right, Germany cannot cope with a repeat 1 M refugee inflow. Merkel is insane with her approach
— bps eco ob (@bpseco) January 3, 2016
Her negative response to Seehofer's latest call for a cap on refugee numbers will put further strain on the already tense relationship within her coalition government.
