German Chancellor Angela Merkel | AP 
World

Merkel's fierce critic won't 'sell soul' in dispute over refugee cap

Horst Seehofer is Bavaria's governor and the leader of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian arm of Merkel's Union bloc.

From our online archive

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's most prominent domestic critic in the migrant crisis says he won't "sell the soul" of his conservative party in a dispute over his demand for a cap on the number of refugees that Germany accepts.

Horst Seehofer is Bavaria's governor and the leader of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian arm of Merkel's Union bloc. Seehofer has long criticized Merkel's welcoming approach to migrants last year and is pressing for an annual refugee cap in Germany of 200,000 — a call Merkel and allies so far have rejected.

A national election is expected next September. Seehofer told Sunday's Bild am Sonntag newspaper that he hopes to resolve the dispute this month — but "I won't give up this core element just so that there is harmony."

Is Akhilesh Yadav adopting ‘soft Hindutva’ ahead of 2027 poll battle?

Visas a 'sovereign' matter, says MEA as Tharoor alleges 115 Bharat Summit speakers barred

Bessent blames Lutnick's Commerce Department for not restricting Nvidia chips to China

What IAF's Gajraj landing at Nyoma, the border with China, means

India joins 50 nations in call for ‘safe, sustained and unhindered’ humanitarian aid access to Gaza