Immigration Backlash Erodes Merkel’s Power in Conservative Stronghold

A Bavarian uprising within German leader’s coalition could topple the government if EU summit fails to ease refugee crisis

DORFEN, Germany—When Angela Merkel opened Germany’s borders to thousands of asylum seekers in the late summer of 2015, people in the southernmost state of Bavaria rushed to help in such numbers that authorities had to briefly turn back offers of clothing and food.

Today, after the thousands became more than a million and as immigration redraws Europe’s political landscape, Bavaria has become the springboard for an insurgency that is threatening the German chancellor’s job.

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