Even Merkel Allies Demand Changes in Immigration Policy

You know it’s time to stop when even your friends tell you something's not right. Horst Seehofer, the leader of Germany’s CSU, the sister party of Angela Merkel’s CDU, has called for the Chancellor to review the country’s immigration policy.

Horst Seehofer, leader of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party, a "sister party" of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Democratic Union (CDU), has called for Merkel to introduce caps on immigration, saying there are still differences the parties must resolve before the upcoming September 2017 election, as the two parties have long enjoyed a political alliance.

According to media reports, Seehofer, who has repeatedly called to introduce a 200,000 per year cap on immigration, suggested CSU could refuse to participate in the next government, if immigration restrictions are not introduced.

"We mean this demand very seriously," Seehofer told reporters.

CDU and CSU, colloquially called "the Union parties," plan to hold a "reconciliation summit" this February in Munich, to "repair" relations between the two parties, which have gone cold after both Seehofer and Merkel refused to attend each other's party conference last year due to disagreement over the country's immigration policy. However, Seehofer noted that the agenda for the upcoming summit is not yet finalized.

"We still need to discuss some things and then we will go into the election together," he said, adding that "[Germany] is polarized and divided and it must be the task of all democrats to lead their country together."

Merkel has pursued an "open door" policy, opposing any suggestions to introduce immigration caps, which has led Germany to be flooded with an estimated 1.1 million refugees from Middle Eastern and northern African countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. It was not until a Tunisian migrant killed 12 people in Berlin on Christmas that Merkel ordered the Mediterranean Sea immigration route to be shut down, sending those looking for a better life in Europe back to Northern Africa.

Ahead of the upcoming election, the CSU raised concerns about losing votes to far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party that prefers an increasingly popular hard line against immigration.