Merkel refugee policy blamed for defeat
Online Desk
05 Sep 2016 11:05 AM
German Chancellor Angela Merkel listens to Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) speech during the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit at the International Expo Center in Hangzhou on September 4, 2016. Photo: AFP
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's allies have urged her to change course on refugees after her governing CDU party was beaten in a regional election by an anti-immigrant party, reports the BBC.
The right-wing AfD party, formed only three years ago, came second in the chancellor's home state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, polling 21%.
Mrs Merkel has defended her policies but said she needs to "win back trust".
Some 1.1 million refugees and migrants entered Germany in 2015.
Many of them arrived after the government decided to loosen border controls just over a year ago.
Mrs Merkel, who is in China for the G20 summit, said she was "very unhappy" with the election result.
"Everyone now needs to think about how we can win back trust-- most of all, of course, myself," she said.
"Obviously it [the election result] has something to do with the refugee question. But I nevertheless believe the decisions made were right and we have to continue to work on them."
