The Shrinking Chancellor

The event should have been a breeze for Angela Merkel. The German chancellor was giving a speech on the importance of funding science at a new physics research center in the eastern city of Halle -- no problem for a physicist-turned-politician. But a few minutes into her address, Merkel was confronted by a heckler demanding a change in Germany's stance on refugees. Though the chancellor kept her cool, thanking the heckler and telling him that she will stand by her responsibilities, the incident highlights the increasing hostility she faces over her open-door policy on migrants. Members of Merkel's coalition government soon stepped up calls for quotas on refugees, deportation of those who commit crimes, and holding facilities for migrants in border zones. When Merkel stood by her refusal to impose a limit, CSU Chairman Horst Seehofer threatened to file a constitutional complaint charging the federal government with failing to control the borders and warned that 2016 could end up topping last year's record influx of migrants.