Merkel's gamble to receive Syrian refugees is paying off

The big gamble of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to receive millions of refugees, most of them Syrians, is paying off, says Roger Boise.

Millions of immigrants from different countries quickly integrated into German society and compensated for the country's low birth rate.

The author describes the chancellor as the "queen of Europe uncrowned" and notes that she is currently preparing to leave the government and to meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Berlin.

Merkel, according to the author, has become an increasingly marginal figure in the world of the European Union. She is looking back on everything she has achieved and not looking ahead as she leaves politics.

National tone
No one in Berlin, London or Brussels really believes that Merkel still has influence, or that she has the ability to help Britain get out of the EU, he says, adding that Merkel is confused by the rising nationalist tone, but she should only blame itself.

The reason for all the conditions that Merkel is going through is that she opened her country to more than a million immigrants and refugees four years ago, changing the political map of national identity in Europe and beyond.

The influx of refugees into Germany, and a deep concern over the lack of guarantees for new arrivals, were among the main drivers of the rise of the far-right and populist Europe from Sweden to Italy, and that it was one of the reasons for the British exit and the victory of Donald Trump as US president.

He also says: The political price paid by Merkel is the rise of the far-right party "Alternative to Germany" in 2017, which is expected to win most seats east of the country in the municipal elections this fall.

Sick Germany
The post-Merkel era (the 2021 elections) has already begun, and the blame will fall on Merkel for a "sick" Germany with a faltering economy and for losing her leading role in Europe to French President Emmanuel Macron, her failure to choose a successor, and above all her call. For those fleeing wars to her country

However, Germany's labor market statistics do not justify the political assumptions of the anti-immigration lobby, explaining that more than a third of the refugees - who came from seven key countries represented in Syria - Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Somalia - have official jobs and pay taxes.

Employers believe that the number of refugee workers will rise unless an economic recession occurs, and that there is no evidence that newcomers are taking jobs from citizens or absorbing the economy by living on the social insurance system.

He also says that refugees have become part of the workforce and that they have merged with their German colleagues, given their young age, physical capacity and good education.

The system of education, training and the German language that followed them, says the author, made them eligible to go directly to the labor market they need.

The article concluded with a question about the social price in Germany if the economy begins to stagnate and if job competition begins to take more space in the country.