Angela Merkel: Germany will cut migrant numbers

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated on Sunday her refusal to an upper limit on the number of refugees Germany will admit, saying European and worldwide measures are needed to solve the current refugee crisis.

But with no end in sight to the influx, despite a respite due to rough winter weather complicating the perilous Mediterranean crossing, Germans are demanding a clear road map from the 61-year-old leader.

Her name-checking of those thought to be her potential successors – Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen – served to reinforce their limited stature as members of team Merkel, rather than serious challengers.

Her policy was opposed by her coalition partner the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), led by Sigmar Gabriel, who said the transit camps would be like detention centers.

Ms Merkel herself has been accused of “not having a plan” for the refugee crisis and at party meetings she was recently confronted by placard waving party members demanding that she resign.

“Sometimes it makes you want to go mad”, Merkel said in reference to negotiations with her European partners.

But speaking to party delegates, she described her existing policy to offer asylum to those fleeing conflict in the Middle East as a “humanitarian imperative”.

In a barnstorming party conference speech, which received a 10-minute standing ovation, the CDU leader conceded the refugee crisis posed a “historic challenge” to European and German values.

“We want to tangibly reduce the number of refugees arriving”, Merkel said to applause. “Of course we are going to have an intense debate about this”, Merkel said on public television ARD late 13 December.

The government introduced a fast-track decision procedure earlier this year to discourage the number of asylum seekers from Kosovo and Serbia.

Her strategy also includes finding a solution to the migration crisis at the European Union level.

Even in the face of demands from the right wing of the party for an upper limit on newcomers, Merkel insisted Germany would never seal its border.

Her use of the phrase “noticeably reduce” came directly from a resolution the CDU leadership hastily reworked on the eve of the congress to head off an open rebellion over her refugee policy.

Local media noted that Merkel has won the first round with the right-wing dissenters in the run-up to the congress by successfully shooting down a proposal to set a specific cap on the number of asylum seekers that Germany would resettle.

The gathering of around 1,000 delegates in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe was viewed as one of the most important of Merkel’s 15-year tenure at the helm of the party.

To successfully integrate refugees, it was essential to explain to them Germany’s “strong native identity” of non-negotiable values, she said, such as religious freedom and equality of gender and sexuality.