German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s strong support of taking in hundreds of thousands of migrants is wearing out its welcome the country’s citizens.
A new poll, published on Saturday, shows 49 percent of Germans say the nation’s refugee policy is wrong, while 39 percent support it, The Independent reports.
Another new poll shows that four-fifths of the country wants the government to re-implement border controls.
These numbers are a stunning turnaround from poll numbers from only a month ago. Agence France-Presse reported on September 11 that 66 percent of Germans supported the country taking in migrants who had made it to Hungary, 62 percent believed the nation could handle the influx of new arrivals and 43 percent backed Merkel’s plan to spend billions on settling the refugees.
The reasons for the change in attitudes could be due to the migrants actually arriving in the country and the costs of taking them in has dawned on everyday Germans. (RELATED: Hamburglers! German City Seizes Private Property To House Refugees)
Some residents have been forced out of their homes to make room for refugee accommodation. The cost for taking in the 800,000 migrants Germany has agreed to take in will cost over $11 billion. Migrants have also been involved in committing high-profile crimes in the country. (RELATED: Bleeding Hearts Will Only Make Europe’s Migrant Crisis Worse)
In response to the crisis, large rallies against Merkel’s unrestricted refugee policy are starting to attract thousands and the nationalist party Alternative for Germany is gaining in support.