Now Merkel’s Adversaries Face Ultimatum to Back Down on Migrants
- Bavarian party holds fire before its decision on Sunday
- German chancellor needs climbdown to end threat to coalition
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives to give a press conference on the final day of the European Council leaders' summit on June 29, in Brussels.
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Europe’s surprise deal on migration raises pressure on Angela Merkel’s antagonists in Germany to back off, increasing the chances she’ll ride out the latest threat to her chancellorship.
Merkel and other European Union leaders defied expectations to forge an accord, shifting the onus to the Bavaria-based CSU party that sought the clash. Its leaders must now decide at a meeting on Sunday whether to risk a historic breakup of the party bloc that’s governed Germany for most of the time since World War II or seek a face-saving retreat.