NOBODY’S DONE AS MUCH DAMAGE TO EUROPE AS HER SINCE ANOTHER FAILED GERMAN CHANCELLOR: Merkel’s Vulnerabilities Resurface.

This past week, a month ahead of Germany’s national elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel boldly stated that she has no regrets about her decision to open Germany’s borders to refugees during the 2015 migrant crisis. Despite her public confidence, though, Merkel’s government is struggling to cope with the consequences of that fateful decision—and she may soon face another difficult choice that will test her commitment to it. . . .

The current predicament is a problem of Merkel’s own making. In March 2016, her government kicked the can down the road by implementing a two-year ban on family reunification for a large class of asylum seekers. With that deadline looming in the distance—and hundreds of thousands stuck in limbo—Merkel is deflecting questions about whether she would extend the ban or allow another massive influx of migrants into Germany.

Needless to say, this is not a conversation that Merkel wants to be having before the election. Her main opponent, Martin Schulz, has been reluctant to press her on her immigration and integration policies, and she has tried to neutralize those political vulnerabilities by pointing to her subsequent crackdown on migrant flows after the initial surge in 2015. But the coming decision on family reunification will put the issue back in the spotlight, pitting Merkel’s original open-arms policy against the tougher tack she has taken in its aftermath. Public opinion favors a restrictive approach: according to a recent survey, 58% of Germans are opposed to refugees’ relatives being allowed to legally reunite with their families in Germany.

Hmm. Sounds like our political leaders and the “Dreamers.”