Merkel seeks new term as leader of German conservatives

“The full-face veil must be banned, wherever it is legally possible”, Merkel told party delegates in Essen.

Following burkini bans over the summer on beaches in the French Riviera and a series of terror attacks across Western Europe, Germany’s CDU party and affiliate party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) parties debated banning the burqa in August.

It’s widely known though that a ban would violate Germany’s constitution, BBC News noted. If Germany does ban Burkas it will be following Holland, where the Muslim womens’ garb was banned in schools and hospitals, as well as France and Belgium which prohibited it before that. According to the Independent, her comments were met with “rapturous applause”. “This election will be even more hard than those we have had before as we are facing a strong polarisation” in the community, she added.

The chancellor continued, “In interpersonal communication, which plays a fundamental role here, we show our face”.

Last month, Merkel announced that she is seeking a fourth term as chancellor.

Her plan to outlaw the Islamic full face covering comes as politicians call for the same in Britain.

Her call for a burqa ban, which is worn in public in Germany by very few women, could be seen as a pragmatic shift to the right for Merkel.

The statements are clearly part of a strategy to counter the rising wave of populism that has swept away some of her allies overseas and is threatening to eat away at her party’s base.

In the 2017 federal elections, Merkel – who was re-elected party leader on Tuesday – will face a test of her policies. Concurrently, Merkel spoke out against the ultra-modest veils, telling local newspapers that “a fully veiled woman scarcely has a chance at full integration” in German culture.

Meanwhile, Merkel also repeated her worries about the alleged spread of Islamic sharia law in some migrant communities.

The bans were later overturned in court.

However the chancellor, who has been in power since 2005, still holds wide support.

In the Netherlands, where elections are due in March, opinion polls suggest the right-wing populist Freedom Party (PVV) is neck and neck with the governing liberal VVD.