Angela Merkel admits she may have blundered with Germany’s open-door immigration policy after she is hammered in the polls
The German Chancellor said she would change her policy if people made clear what they wanted
ANGELA Merkel has admitted for first time she may have blundered over the migration crisis in the wake of another bitter poll drubbing.
The German Chancellor admitted she was “unprepared” for last year’s one million strong migrant influx.
And she also signalled a change of tack in policy saying: “If I knew what change in refugee policy the people in Germany want, I would be prepared to consider it”.
In the wake of thumping losses to the far Right in Berlin elections Mrs Merkel said she blamed herself for the “bitter” result.
She said: “I take responsibility as party leader and chancellor.
“If I could, I would go back in time to be better prepared for the refugee crisis in 2015, for which we were rather unprepared.”
The Chancellor’s CDU party produced its worst ever showing in Berlin with a 14.6 per cent share of the vote.
The anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won its biggest share of the vote with 14.5 per cent.
The left wing party Die Linke also enjoyed a bigger share of the vote.
Mrs Merkel also pledged not to use her “we can do it” slogan because its meaning had become “empty”.
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But she insisted there would be no repeat of last year’s chaos at German borders.
It is the first time she has suggested she may back down from her open door refugee policy.
The controversial policy has seen her personal approval ratings plunge and her party fall to its lowest level in the polls since 2012.