Nicked from across the road.
German leadership has left the whole of Europe in crisis says Leo Mckinstry
http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/leo-mckinstry/608465/Germany-crisis-Leo-McKinstry-Angela-Merkel
The EU is essentially a German-led entity with Berlin’s politicians now dictating the fate of the continent as surely as if they were in command of occupying armies.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is truly the empress of this realm, capable of ruining entire European societies with just a word from her cold lips.
It is a familiar role for Germany. Ever since it first became a unified state in 1871, it has been a menace to the peace and stability of Europe.
In the modern history of the world no other advanced nation has come close to inflicting such repeated damage or spreading such profound misery.
Now the German political class is at it again, dragging Europe towards permanent ruin through its spectacular mishandling of the immigration crisis.
The scenes of chaos throughout Europe are a monument to the appalling vanity of Merkel and large sections of the German public.
In their mix of shortsightedness and smugness they are the architects of this present catastrophe
What we have really witnessed is not genuine compassion but German triumphalism in a new form. Here was a chance for Germany once again to parade its moral superiority over other nations.
Indeed Merkel wallowed in self-congratulation when she declared her open door policy “painted a picture of Germany which can make us proud of our country”.
All this trumpeted conceit is repugnant. It is a bit rich to be lectured by German politicians about the virtues of racial tolerance. Moreover there has been a large element of self-interest in the German approach since many of its policy makers seem to believe that the country needs more migrants to counter- balance the ageing population, though in practice this is economic illiteracy since all experience in Europe shows that immigrants are a colossal drain on the public purse.
But far more importantly, the remorseless flood of migrants is now tearing apart the very fabric of the European order.