In the midst of a domestic battle over his own administration's
strict immigration policy, President Trump took aim at Germany's Angela
Merkel on Monday — arguing in a tweet that the German chancellor's more
open policies toward migration and refugees had led to a crisis in her
government coalition.
But in making his argument against Merkel's "big mistake," Trump claimed that crime in Germany was "way up." That claim is not supported by recent statistics.
Notably, Merkel's biggest challenger on immigration policy is on record as saying just last month that crime in Germany was the lowest it had been in decades.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer had released new crime figures in May that pointed to an overall decline in Germany over last year. The figures showed that 5.76 million crimes were reported in 2017 — a drop of 5 percent from 2016 and the lowest number since 1992.
Given the increases in Germany's population, Seehofer told reporters in Berlin, this meant that Germany's reported crime rate was at the lowest it had been for three decades.
To put it simply, "Germany has become safer," Seehofer said.
There is certainly no doubt that the wave of over a million refugees and migrants who arrived in Germany in 2015 and 2016 changed the country, resulting in strained relations between German citizens and their new guests. However, concern about immigration in the country, Merkel likely remains the country's most popular political leader with a 50 percent approval rating this month.
Trump, meanwhile, continues to be viewed negatively by many Germans. In the same poll that found Merkel's high approval rating, 87 percent of Germans were concerned that the U.S. leader was exacerbating international conflicts.
EU-Digest
But in making his argument against Merkel's "big mistake," Trump claimed that crime in Germany was "way up." That claim is not supported by recent statistics.
Notably, Merkel's biggest challenger on immigration policy is on record as saying just last month that crime in Germany was the lowest it had been in decades.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer had released new crime figures in May that pointed to an overall decline in Germany over last year. The figures showed that 5.76 million crimes were reported in 2017 — a drop of 5 percent from 2016 and the lowest number since 1992.
Given the increases in Germany's population, Seehofer told reporters in Berlin, this meant that Germany's reported crime rate was at the lowest it had been for three decades.
To put it simply, "Germany has become safer," Seehofer said.
There is certainly no doubt that the wave of over a million refugees and migrants who arrived in Germany in 2015 and 2016 changed the country, resulting in strained relations between German citizens and their new guests. However, concern about immigration in the country, Merkel likely remains the country's most popular political leader with a 50 percent approval rating this month.
Trump, meanwhile, continues to be viewed negatively by many Germans. In the same poll that found Merkel's high approval rating, 87 percent of Germans were concerned that the U.S. leader was exacerbating international conflicts.
EU-Digest
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