Merkel refuses to be on the backfoot on refugee issue

World
Europe

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood up to rowdy protesters who tried to drown out her campaign speech in the eastern town of Quedlinburg on Saturday.

Merkel is seeking a fourth term in office and has the best chance to win the election on September 24. One month before the election, her CDU party is polling at around 40% compared to the opposition SPD's 25%.

However, some conservative voters are angry that their chancellor opened Germany's borders to more than a million refugees since late 2015.

The migrant crisis isn't something new to Merkel who has already survived one previously, caused by the flow of hundreds of thousands of mainly Syrian refugees into Germany. To regain voters' support, she subsequently took a firmer line on immigration.

It was only the second campaign appearance by Merkel in the formerly communist eastern Germany, where anti-foreigner sentiment is especially pronounced. Merkel grew up in the communist East and entered politics after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Renowned for her pragmatism and quiet confidence, Merkel has been voted German chancellor thrice－in 2005, 2009 and 2013.

Forbes magazine named the German chancellor the world's most powerful woman for the 11th time in 2016. And if she wins a fourth term in office, that accolade is unlikely to be the last.