Merkel defends open borders for migrants amid German government rift

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her open-door policy for migrants, rejecting any limit on the number of refugees allowed into her country despite divisions within her government.

Merkel said there was no “Plan B” for her aim of reducing the flow of migrants through co-operation with Turkey, efforts she said could unravel were Germany to cap the number of refugees it accepts.

“Sometimes, I also despair. Some things go too slow. There are many conflicting interests in Europe,” Merkel told state broadcaster ARD on Sunday . “But it is my damn duty to do everything I can so that Europe finds a collective way.”

Merkel spelled out her motivation to keep Germany’s borders open without limits on refugees, a goal many in her own country and coalition government openly disagree with.

“There is so much violence and hardship on our doorstep,” she said. “What’s right for Germany in the long term? There, I think it is to keep Europe together and to show humanity.”

Merkel, once highly popular, has seen her ratings plummet because of her handling of the migrants issue. The majority of those surveyed by public broadcaster ARD earlier in February were dissatisfied with her.