The Italian government, for one, might find it a bit rich to hear this rhetoric coming out of Germany now. “For the longest time, Germans completely shied away from responding to calls of the Italians in particular, who were saying, ‘Look, we have this [migrant] problem here in Italy and it should be dealt with at the European level—we are most affected by this and other EU countries need to help us,’” Almut Möller, the head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Berlin office, told me. Italy’s new right-wing populist government just this week acted on its hardline immigration stance, sparking a major diplomatic dispute when it refused to allow a boat carrying 600 migrants to dock in the country’s ports. 
 
 Möller noted that under the EU’s Dublin Regulation, the responsibility for processing a migrant’s asylum claim falls to the country where the migrant first arrives. This burden invariably fell most heavily on countries like Italy and Greece, which served as the main points of entry for those coming by boat from the Middle East and North Africa. Through her open-door policy, Merkel tried to address this disparity. “She decided to allow for refugees to register for their asylum request to be dealt with in Germany, which meant essentially breaking with what the formal Dublin arrangement says,” Möller said. “It was seen as an act of solidarity with more vulnerable countries that were not able to deal with the huge inflow of people who need our help.” 
 
 Burden-sharing isn’t the only factor in Merkel’s calculus. The chancellor also fears that if Germany shuts its doors, it could prompt other European countries to do the same—a prospect that threatens to hasten the collapse of the bloc’s internal open-borders system, which allows freedom of movement between EU countries. “Apart from the humanitarian argument, she also argued that we have to try to strengthen the EU’s external border security … to be able to keep our free movement of capital and goods in place,” Möller said. “That was her argument and continues to be her argument.” 
 
 Now, Merkel is playing for time in the hopes that this issue can be tabled—and her government sustained—until agreements with other EU member states can be made at the bloc’s summit later this month. Until then, her party’s members have reaffirmed their intent to stand behind their chancellor. 
 
 Seehofer, on the other hand, has threatened to defy Merkel and push forward with his migrant policy. Such a challenge to Merkel’s authority could prompt her to acquiesce (an unlikely scenario, given the blow to her authority this would entail), overrule him, or fire him—a move that would almost certainly bring the government down and trigger new elections. Seehofer and the CSU’s decision is expected to be made Monday. 
 
 Observers predicted that Merkel would meet her end as chancellor after Germany’s last general election in September, and again in November when coalition talks collapsed. Now, as then, such predictions seem premature. “The CSU are trying to take a tough line on immigration to appeal to voters, and they have a strong incentive to do that,” Marcel Dirsus, a political scientist at the University of Kiel, told me. “But they don’t have a strong incentive to topple their own chancellor—especially because she continues to be very popular.” ||||| FILE - In this March 21, 2018 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, right, talk during a meeting of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this March 21, 2018 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, right, talk during a meeting of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, file) (Associated Press) 
 
 BERLIN (AP) — Germany's interior minister insisted that his party has no intention of bringing down Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government, amid uncertainty Sunday over chances of a solution to a bitter standoff over migration. 
 
 Interior Minister Horst Seehofer is calling for Germany to turn back at its border migrants who have registered as asylum-seekers in other European countries. Merkel opposes unilateral action, arguing that it would weaken the 28-nation European Union. The issue has escalated into a high-stakes power struggle. 
 
 Seehofer leads the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union party, the sister party to Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union. His party holds a leadership meeting Monday which could authorize Seehofer to push through his demand. 
 
 If he actually does so unilaterally in defiance of the chancellor, many observers believe Merkel would likely have to fire him — which in turn could effectively end her current governing coalition and the conservative parties' decades-old alliance in national politics. The two parties govern with the center-left Social Democrats. 
 
 However it ends, the spat has laid bare the limits of Merkel's authority in a fractious government that took office in March after nearly six months of postelection haggling. 
 
 The CSU's top priority is a difficult October state election in Bavaria in which it is trying to tamp down support for the anti-migration Alternative for Germany party. 
 
 Bavarian governor Markus Soeder and the party's top federal lawmaker, Alexander Dobrindt, have been even more vehement than Seehofer in demanding immediate action on migration. Soeder has talked of a need to end "asylum tourism." 
 
 "No one in the CSU has an interest in bringing down the chancellor, dissolving the CDU-CSU joint parliamentary group, or blowing up the coalition," Seehofer was quoted as telling the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. But "we want finally to have a sustainable solution for turning back refugees at our borders." 
 
 Seehofer and Merkel have long had an awkward relationship. In his previous job as Bavarian governor, Seehofer was one of the leading critics of Merkel's decision in 2015 to leave Germany's borders open as migrants streamed across the Balkans. 
 
 Merkel has pointed to a June 28-29 EU summit at which migration will be a key topic as she insists on holding talks with other countries about it. 
 
 Migration "is a European challenge that needs a European answer," she said in her weekly video message Saturday. "I think this is issue is one of the most decisive for the cohesion of Europe." 
 
 Mike Mohring, the CDU leader in the eastern state of Thuringia, told the daily Die Welt that he expects the CSU to give Merkel two weeks to find a European solution. "Angela Merkel and Horst Seehofer simply must pull together," he said, warning that the alternative would be "chaos." 
 
 In an op-ed piece for the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung released later Sunday, Seehofer said he "must have the right to turn back" people who aren't entitled to enter. But he said the aim should be a "consensual solution" and wrote that it was "of decisive significance that the EU summit at the end of June finally makes decisions that recognize Germany's burdens in migrant policy." 
 
 Merkel already has meetings scheduled Monday with Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte — the head of a new, populist government whose interior minister has pledged to deport tens of thousands of migrants — and Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron. 
 
 On Sunday, the Bild newspaper reported that Merkel is working on a "special summit" before the EU summit with countries particularly affected by migration. 
 
 The German government said no special EU summit is planned, and that would be a matter for EU leaders in Brussels, but "of course the German government is holding talks with various member states and the (EU) Commission" about immigration in Europe. ||||| German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s back is against the wall again over her liberal migration policy, and once more it’s her own side causing the confrontation. 
 
 Bavaria’s ruling party -- one of three parties in Merkel’s coalition -- demands that Germany start turning away refugees and migrants already registered in another European Union country. Merkel rejects such a move, saying her country shouldn’t act unilaterally to protect its borders and that a Europe-wide solution is needed. 
 
 The stand-off pits Merkel against her interior minister, Horst Seehofer, who also leads the Bavarian Christian Social Union. Seehofer is threatening to start turning away migrants on Monday, meaning that without a compromise the chancellor will be forced to either give in to his plans or sack him -- a move that would almost certainly lead to the coalition’s collapse. 
 
 “Ultimatum for Merkel,” read tabloid Bild’s front page headline on Friday. “Government crisis,” is how the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung put it. 
 
 While it looks dire for Merkel, here are four reasons to believe the chancellor will survive this latest test, along with one caveat. 
 
 Party Calculus: 
 
 Seehofer enjoys the full backing of the CSU, the sister party of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. But he looks to have miscalculated in assuming the CDU would rally behind his so-called immigration masterplan. Earlier this week it did look as though Merkel’s own party might line up against her on this issue, but beyond the usual suspects who opposed her every move during the euro-area crisis, they are now on board. 
 
 Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, CDU general secretary, sent a memo to all party members underlining the “serious situation” developing around the “increasingly vehement” debate over migration. Crucially, Wolfgang Schaeuble, the former finance minister who now presides over the Bundestag, has thrown his weight behind Merkel -- as he did during the height of the 2015-2016 refugee crisis. According to German media reports, he will act as a mediator in talks between the two blocs over the weekend to try and prevent a showdown on Monday. 
 
 European Dimension: 
 
 Germany is far from alone in struggling with migration. While the number of people making the dangerous journey to Europe across the Mediterranean is way down from the peak three summers back, the issue has suddenly resurfaced across Europe, most notably as a result of the actions of Italy’s new government. The populist tactics have been criticized, but Italy has a point in complaining it has been all-but left alone on the frontline to deal with the influx. That shows pressure is building for some kind of action to address migration challenges at an EU summit in Brussels on June 28-29 -- if even a patch rather than a comprehensive system. 
 
 Merkel said that she’ll try to seek bilateral agreements with individual EU states in the next two weeks. While Seehofer and his CSU say they won’t wait for Europe, the argument for a bloc-wide solution is a powerful one: sending registered refugees back across the border would creating a “domino effect” that could eventually call into question the stability of the EU, according to Kramp-Karrenbauer. 
 
 Bavarian Form: 
 
 Bavaria faces regional elections in October and the CSU is vying to hold on to its majority in the face of a challenge from the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Rattling Berlin’s cage over refugees plays well in the state, which after all is the main border to all points south. Yet the CSU has a history of forcing conflicts in Berlin to serve its interests in Munich. Seehofer needled Merkel repeatedly during the refugee crisis, only to back down or agree to compromise, most recently over a cap on the number of arrivals. He doesn’t necessarily need to implement every single point of his plan to show voters back home that he’s fighting hard on their behalf. 
 
 “The task of ruling our nation is not an episode from Game of Thrones but a serious matter,” Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, a member of the Social Democrats, the third coalition party, wrote on Twitter. “All those involved should never forget that.” 
 
 Self Interest: 
 
 Perhaps the single biggest reason to believe that this inter-party conflict will be defused is that it is in neither side’s interest to blow up a coalition that took months to piece together. The only obvious winner at the national level would be the AfD, which has gained in polls since last year’s election and has a more hardline stance than the CSU on immigration and asylum. And it’s hard to imagine Bavarian state voters would reward the CSU in the coming regional elections for introducing instability. 
 
 “Both sides have too much to lose,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg in London. “Seehofer has shown in the past that he can be flexible if need be,” and both his party and Merkel’s party “have an interest in reaching a compromise.” 
 
 To Be Sure: 
 
 After more than a million arrivals, the friendly welcome, or “Wilkommenskultur,” of three years ago has faded and public support is hardening against migrants. The top-selling Bild tabloid has turned from staunch supporter of Merkel’s open-doors policy to arch critic of the chancellor and a cheerleader for cracking down on refugees. 
 
 Polls released this week suggested voters back Seehofer’s stance, with a majority in favor of more forceful repatriation, for benefits to be paid in kind rather than in cash and for denying entry for anyone without documents. 
 
 Almost thirteen years after she first came to power, Merkel is still an international force -- the image of last week’s Group of Seven summit in Canada was of her in front of her fellow leaders confronting a sitting Donald Trump. But domestically her authority is weakened, perhaps fatally. When she does eventually go, the trigger will almost certainly be her migration policy. 
 
 — With assistance by Arne Delfs, Patrick Donahue, and Birgit Jennen
– The bitter battle over immigration that's been brewing in Germany since Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the country's borders to Syrian refugees is pitting some within the leader's ranks against her. According to the Atlantic, Merkel's own interior minister, Horst Seehofer, drew up plans that would turn back migrants who've already applied for asylum elsewhere in the European Union. Merkel struck down the plan and is now facing backlash from Seehofer, whose center-right Christian Social Union party holds a leadership meeting Monday that could authorize Seehofer to push through his demand, per the AP. If he actually does so unilaterally in defiance of the chancellor, many observers believe Merkel would likely have to fire him—which in turn could effectively end her current governing coalition and the conservative parties' decades-old alliance in national politics. Merkel, meanwhile, is trying to make sure migration is seen as a problem for all of Europe, not just Germany. The chancellor has pointed to a June 28 to 29 EU summit at which migration will be a key topic as she insists on holding talks with other countries about it. Migration "is a European challenge that needs a European answer," she said in her weekly video message Saturday. "I think this issue is one of the most decisive for the cohesion of Europe." However it ends, the spat has laid bare the limits of Merkel's authority in a fractious government that took office in March after nearly six months of post-election haggling. However, as Bloomberg notes, the difficult coming-together may be what helps save Merkel in the end as her interior minister's party seeks to fend off harder-line anti-immigration rivals who could use the infighting to their advantage.