Multiculturalism has FAILED, Says Germany's Merkel

[Danno 1,228]

Merkel says German multicultural society has failed

Angela Merkel said Germany had "kidded itself" multiculturalism was working

Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have "utterly failed", Chancellor Angela Merkel says.

In a speech in Potsdam, she said the so-called "multikulti" concept - where people would "live side-by-side" happily - did not work.

Mrs Merkel's comments come amid recent outpourings of strong anti-immigrant feeling from mainstream politicians.

A recent survey showed that more than 30% of Germans believed Germany 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 the social benefits.

Foreign workers

Mrs Merkel told a gathering of younger members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on Saturday that at "the beginning of the 60s our country called the foreign workers to come to Germany and now they live in our country... We kidded ourselves a while, we said: 'They won't stay, sometime they will be gone', but this isn't reality.

"And of course, the approach [to build] a multicultural [society] and to live side-by-side and to enjoy each other... has failed, utterly failed."

In her speech, the chancellor specifically referred to recent comments by German President Christian Wulff who said that Islam was "part of Germany" like Christianity and Judaism.

Mrs Merkel says Islam is part of Germany but more must be done on integration

While acknowledging that this was the case, Mrs Merkel stressed that immigrants living in Germany needed to do more to integrate, including learning to speak German.

"Anyone who does not immediately speak German", she said, "is not welcome".

By speaking now, Mrs Merkel has now joined the increasingly hot debate on multiculturalism, coming down on the side of those who are uneasy about immigration, says the BBC's correspondent in Berlin, Stephen Evans.

Her comments come a week after she held talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which the two leaders pledged to do more to improve the often poor integration record of Germany's estimated 2.5 million-strong Turkish community.

Earlier this week, Horst Seehofer, the leader of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, CSU, said about integration that it was "obvious that immigrants from different cultures like Turkey and Arab countries, all in all, find it harder".

"'Multikulti' is dead," Mr Seehofer said.

In August, Thilo Sarrazin, a senior official at Germany's central bank, said that "no immigrant group other than Muslims is so strongly connected with claims on the welfare state and crime". Mr Sarrazin has since resigned.

Such recent strong anti-immigrant feelings from mainstream politicians come amid an anger in Germany about high unemployment, even if the economy is growing faster than those of its rivals, our correspondent says.

He adds that there also seems to be a new strident tone in the country, perhaps leading to less reticence about no-go-areas of the past.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Looks like Europe is finally getting it's act together. Hopefully the US and Canada get a clue.

[Ban Hammer 13,400]

Looks like Europe is finally getting it's act together. Hopefully the US and Canada get a clue.

as long as the canadians bring their timbits, they're welcome in my book

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Mrs. Merkel is late to the party doing nothing but stating the painfully obvious. The political left in Germany (the Social Democrats and the Green Party) said good-bye to MultiKulti earlier this decade. It's about time that the conservatives are seeing the light.

[Heracles 417]

What has failed is this notion that one can willing migrate to another country and refuse to assimilate or integrate. Then piling more and more of such people in, until ###### hits the fan and they start protesting and burning down the areas they become a majority in. By then, many have conceived multiple kids, who now get a range of rights and benefits.

Unfortunately, nothing can change in America, as it goes against the country's fundamentals. After all, the US Constitution does permit that a Mosque be built even on the site of 9/11 let alone a block or so away.

Edited October 16, 2010 by Heracles

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I wonder if the US would allow a Japanese monument to built at Pearl Harbor.

[Danno 1,228]

I wonder if the US would allow a Japanese monument to built at Pearl Harbor.

In 2010?

Yes, with their version of events in bronze.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I wonder if the US would allow a Japanese monument to built at Pearl Harbor.

The mosque isn't at ground zero it is near ground zero, therefore you should be asking " Would the US let japanese build a shinto shrine near Pearl Harbor"

After all it was the state religion at the time...and the answer is yes they have.

[Danno 1,228]

The mosque isn't at ground zero it is near ground zero, therefore you should be asking " Would the US let japanese build a shinto shrine near Pearl Harbor"

After all it was the state religion at the time...and the answer is yes they have.

Ahh, Danno is right again!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

While acknowledging that this was the case, Mrs Merkel stressed that immigrants living in Germany needed to do more to integrate, including learning to speak German.

Nope... they prefer to collect welfare and be a ####### in a punchbowl.