German Chancellor Angela Merkel has finally admitted that her much maligned open door policy on migrants was a mistake.
"We didn't embrace the problem in an appropriate way," Merkel said in an interview, according to Breitbart News, on Thursday.
"In Germany we ignored the problem for too long and blocked out the need to find a pan-European solution," she added, marking an implicit reversal of her motto "We can do this."
Merkel also said she "cannot deny" that Germany has become complacent after years of welcoming Muslim migrants from other nations. Last year alone, Germany welcomed 1.1 million refugees. More of them have been arriving since the start of this year.
Some of the refugees have abused German hospitality and committed crimes including assault and molestation of German women, sparking unrest and protest among the German people.
Far-right movements such a PEGIDA have denounced Merkel's policies on refugees, blaming them for an upsurge of crime in several cities.
"People are very unhappy with her refugee policies," said Helmut Schroeder, a 61-year-old unemployed locksmith in Greifswald. "It's astonishing that one woman could take such a momentous decision on her own. We are not a monarchy."
Political expert Stefani Weiss told The Christian Post back in January that Germany cannot handle Europe's refugee crisis on its own.
"The member states need to accept that this is a European problem, and that it needs a European solution. We have to be more aware of the risks which might be involved regarding our security and safety, but we shouldn't put refugees and criminals into one basket," said Weiss, the director of Bertelsmann Stiftung, an independent, nonprofit German foundation.
Reuters reported that it's not yet clear whether Merkel will decide to run for a fourth term in 2017 amid her declining popularity ratings. Merkel has been in power for more than 10 years, having assumed office on Nov. 22, 2005.
Oxford historian and author Timothy Garton Ash predicted that Merkel might be on her way out of power, despite her promise that Germany will not accept as many refugees this year compared to 2015.
"There is a universal law in politics that says 10 years is enough. When leaders stay longer they start making mistakes. It happened to De Gaulle, Kohl, Thatcher and to Erdogan and Putin. Now it seems to be happening to the pragmatic, cautious Angela Merkel," Ash said.
