Demotix/Goncalvo Silva. All rights reserved.Rarely has a democratic country moved so rapidly from seemingly perfect political stability and a state of almost smug contentedness to a widespread feeling of crisis, confusion and near chaos as Germany has done over the past six months. While Merkel was still acclaimed at the beginning of this year as one of the most powerful politicians of the world (though perhaps not the most popular one, in countries such as Greece or Italy), and was widely praised as a woman of astute judgement and great self restraint, unrattled even in the worst of crises, she now seems to be totally out of her depth. A helpless feel good rhetoric designed to calm a bunch of unruly children but not to convince grown up citizens that there is nothing to worry about reveals her loss of grip almost every day.
There is no convincing answer in Germany to the imminent threat of terrorism – admittedly it is difficult to give such an answer but the German government seems to be particularly helpless at present - and the fact that anybody whoever he may be and whatever his intentions are can cross the German borders without being properly controlled or registered and settle anywhere in the country - if he wishes so anonymously - is hardly reassuring under present circumstances.
The supposed control of the EU’s outward borders by countries such as Greece and Italy has never worked properly – admittedly maritime frontiers have always been very difficult to police - and has broken down totally over the last year. Even if one assumes that the vast majority of refugees actually run away not just from poverty and war but also from extremism and terrorism – there is little reason to assume anything else for the time being – this is a cause for concern.
