On Sunday evening, February 28, 2016, German Chancellor Angela Merkel did what no German Chancellor has ever done before her; she talked in a political talk-show for the second time within only five months and German media is flooded by comments, reactions, columns and analyses of her one hour talk with host Anne Will. During the show Merkel made statements about the current refugee situation, some of which have a good chance of making it into history textbooks, and not only into German.

She showed great determination in staying on the same point since the beginning of the crisis. The most memorable quotes are:

“Sometimes, I also despair. Some things go too slow. There are many conflicting interests in Europe. But it is my damn duty to do everything I can so that Europe finds a collective way.“

“I don’t have a Plan B”

“That is exactly what I fear now, if one (country) sets a cap (on the number of refugees), the other one has to suffer. That is not my Europe.”

“It has to be a German responsibility, not to solve problems at the expense of another country, but to solve them jointly with all countries.”

"I am deeply convinced, that the path that I have chosen, is the right one."

Even though fresh results of a poll from February 26, the monthly ARD-DeutschlandTrend by infratest dimap, show that a majority of 60 per cent of Germans have a sceptic view on Angela Merkel’s refugee policy, 54 per cent of Germans have a positive view on Angela Merkel’s work. An increase of 8 per cent compared to January figures!