German government under threat as interior minister offers to resign over immigration deal: Reports
Horst Seehofer has agreed to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday before making a final decision.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said he will meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of her party, the Christian Democratic Union, on Monday to hold a final discussion on a migration deal that Merkel had proposed to other European Union leaders last week, The Guardian reported. Seehofer is a member of the Christian Social Union, an ally of Merkel’s party.
Merkel had last week proposed a host of commitments on refugee policy from the European Union members. Seehofer had initially proposed an immediate rejection of immigrants who have been registered in other EU countries but later agreed to a phased implementation of the plan, contradicting Merkel’s stance on the matter.
The future of the three-month old German government is in question as the interior minister has threatened to step down over Merkel’s immigration deal. In a meeting with his party leaders on Sunday night, Seehofer offered to resign from his ministerial role and party leadership, reports said. Seehofer said he had held a “conversation with no effect” on Sunday evening with the German chancellor, BBC reported. The interior minister claimed he wanted to step down as he enjoys no support.
However, Seehofer agreed to see Merkel on Monday before making a final decision. “We’ll have more talks today with the CDU in Berlin with the hope that we can come to an agreement,” The Guardian quoted him as saying. “After that, then we will see.”