Thanks to three readers for forwarding me this piece from the BBC yesterday in which Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, says that lack of assimilation by mostly Turkish and Arab immigrants is the cause of growing social unease in Germany.
Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have “utterly failed”, Chancellor Angela Merkel says.
She said the so-called “multikulti” concept – where people would “live side-by-side” happily – did not work, and immigrants needed to do more to integrate – including learning German.
The comments come amid rising anti-immigration feeling in Germany.
A recent survey suggested more than 30% of people believed the country was “overrun by foreigners”.
The study – by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation think-tank – also showed that roughly the same number thought that some 16 million of Germany’s immigrants or people with foreign origins had come to the country for its social benefits.
In typical politician fashion however Merkel goes on to tell her audience of mostly younger members of her political party that immigrants are still welcome—they just need to learn German quickly and not separate themselves from society by creating the well-known Muslim ‘no go zones.’ Good luck with that.
Read the whole story.