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| Chancellor Angela Merkel told the protestors that their angry shouts would not solve Germany’s problems |
Chancellor Angela Merkel stood up to rowdy protestors who tried to drown out her campaign speech with deafening jeers and whistles in the eastern town of Quedlinburg on Saturday, telling them that their angry shouts would not solve Germanyโs problems.
Amid chants of โMerkel just goโ and โLiar, liarโ that demonstrators strongly opposed to her refugee policies kept up for the entire 30-minute address, Merkel departed from her stump speech three times.
โI hope you were able to understand some of that even though some of you out there kept on yelling,โ a glum-looking Merkel said near the end of her speech to 1,500 people.
โSome believe the problems in Germany can be fixed by screaming โ but I donโt think so and the majority of the people here donโt think so either,โ said Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term in office and is the heavy favourite to win the Sept. 24 election.
โSome people canโt do anything else but scream and shout โ but weโre not going to let them lead us astray.โ
Even though Merkelโs conservative Christian Democrats are far ahead of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in opinion polls, some conservative voters are angry that she has opened Germanyโs borders to more than a million refugees since late 2015.
That anti-Merkel sentiment and the surge of refugees from Syria, Iraq and other troubled regions has fuelled the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which pollsters say could win up to 10 percent in the September election.
Some of the anti-Merkel signs in the crowd read โGo to the Muslimsโ, โGet lost Merkelโ, and โSave the constitution from Merkelโ, and bore the AfD label. One large white banner with blood-like red marks on it read sarcastically: โThanks Merkelโ.
It was only the second campaign appearance by Merkel in formerly communist eastern Germany, where anti-foreigner sentiment is especially pronounced. Last week she faced jeers and shouts of โTraitorโ while speaking in Annaberg-Buchholz.
In Saturdayโs speech Merkel made it clear that refugees were welcome in Germany even though she conceded there could not be a repeat of the influx.
โDiversity makes us strong in Germany and thatโs something we want to maintain,โ she said.
