Syrian student Moataz Ghannam believes many Germans misunderstood Chancellor Angela Merkel when she delivered her now-famous rallying cry at the height of the refugee influx, "We can do it". Political obituaryIn late summer 2015, thousands fleeing war and misery streamed into Germany's railway stations each day. Hundreds of arson attacks targeted refugee shelters, angry mobs threatened groups of terrified asylum seekers in rural areas and Merkel's once stellar approval ratings nosedived. Commentators began writing Merkel's political obituary. Meanwhile the doomsday scenarios conjured up by many sceptics - including some of her closest German political allies and US President Donald Trump - have not come to pass.

Source: The Local September 19, 2017 07:18 UTC