The management of Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding refugee crisis will now be tested. People in three German states are heading to the polls in the regional elections to cast their votes which will determine Merkel's fate.
The elections will be held at Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Württemberg. This is after seven months of the public's different views regarding the chancellor's open country policy. Over the past year, there have been over 1.1 million refugees that were able to enter the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, Merkel has responded to German voters' concerns, promising to reduce the number of asylum seekers that will enter the country.
For the first time, the anti-refugee party Alternative für Deutschland will be entering the parliaments in all three states. The party's revival after its near fallback was due to their opposing views about Merkel's refusal to limit the number of asylum seekers as per The Guardian.
But according to German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, the AfD's gain in the election will not change the government's stand on immigration. He added that there is a clear position that they stand by and that is humanity and solidarity, as reported by BBC.
In the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the party is expected to gain an 18 percent advantage against the Social Democrats. Merkel's party, on the other hand, might face a probable defeat in its former stronghold in Baden-Württemberg. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the current Social Democrat state premier, Malu Dreyer, is closely followed in the polls by conservative candidate Julia Klöckner who is seen as Merkel's successor. Like other candidates in other states, she also distanced herself with the issues that involve the refugee crisis during her campaign.
According to recent television reports, the AfD is winning by 12.5% in Baden-Württemberg, 11% in Rhineland-Palatinate and 23% in Saxony-Anhalt which is considered a poor eastern region.
