Angela Merkel laid out her case for a fourth term as German chancellor on Tuesday, seeking to energise her conservatives with a call to ban full-face Muslim veils and the promise of a tougher stance on immigration after a record influx of refugees last year.
Speaking to a party congress of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Essen, Merkel sought to present herself as a guarantor of stability in an uncertain world.
The meeting was taking place a month after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States and at a time when Europe is reeling under a surge in populism and Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
She was re-elected head of the party in a vote after the speech in which she struck a decidedly conservative note, telling members that she wants to stem the influx of migrants and restrict use of face-covering veils such as the burqa and niqab. Those are rarely seen in Germany, and the CDU has concluded that an all-out ban isn't constitutionally feasible.
Drawing loud applause, Merkel said:
Full veiling is not appropriate here – it should be banned wherever that is legally possible.
Europe's most powerful leader announced in November that she would seek to win a fourth term next autumn – a feat achieved by only two post-war chancellors, Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl, both of the CDU.
Merkel's decision to allow the migrant influx last year hit her popularity and led to a surge in support for the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic Alternative for Germany party, which has thrived by attacking Merkel's migrant policies. The party is expected to win its first seats in the federal parliament next year.
“The 2017 election will be more difficult than any election before, at least since German reunification,” Merkel said, citing the “strong polarization of our society.”
In a nod to these troubles, Merkel began her speech with a promise not to allow a repetition of last year's migrant influx, when nearly 900,000 migrants poured into Germany, and drew cheers when she said the Muslim full-face veil was not compatible with German culture.
Here we say ‘show your face’. So full veiling is not appropriate here. It should be prohibited wherever legally possible.Angela Merkel
Her speech lasted an hour and a quarter and was followed by 11 minutes of applause.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
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