German Chancellor Angela Merkel, fearful of a growing populist movement across Europe, has called for a burka ban in a desperate bid to win enough support to stay in power.
Speaking at a conference for fellow lawmakers from the Christian Democratic Union, Merkel said wearing the “full veil is not appropriate” in Germany and should be outlawed “wherever that is legally possible.”
Merkel’s position represents a fundamental shift in her view on the issue, as she previously resisted supporting an outright ban on the burka.
Facing pressure from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party following local election loses earlier this year, and having witnessed the recent fall of the globalist Prime Minister of Italy, Merkel appears ready to co-opt some elements of the populist opposition in a bid to stay in power for another term.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, a pro-EU globalist, resigned from office following the resounding defeat of his proposed constitutional referendum aimed at transferring power from the Senate to the Chamber of Deputies and granting the majority party bonus seats in an effort to make passing legislation easier.
Critics argued the plan was nothing more than an attempt to sideline minority parties and grant increased power to the Prime Minister at the expense of the Senate and Italian regional bodies.
Several populist movements, including Beppe Grillo’s left-leaning Five-Star Movement, the right-leaning Northern League, and the right-leaning…