Merkel Warns of Chaos as 30,000 Refugees Bottled Up in Greece | MishTalk

Merkel Warns of Chaos as 30,000 Refugees Bottled Up in Greece

Chaos Coming

Now that Balkan countries and Austria have closed the border to the North, 30,000 refugees are bottled up in Greece. More arrive daily.

In response, German Chancellor Angela Merkel wars of chaos. As to who is to blame for the chaos, the Chancellor ought to look in the mirror.

Merkel welcomed the refugees with open arms, and come they did, by the millions.

It’s time for plan “B” but Merkel does not have one. This led Austria and Nine Balkan Countries Effectively Tell Merkel Go to Hell.

The sad saga continues.

Please consider Greece Crisis Looms as 30,000 Migrants Stranded.

A clampdown along Balkan borders has left 30,000 migrants trapped in Greece, marking a new stage in the humanitarian crisis swamping Europe.

Countries farther up the migration trail, from Macedonia to Austria, are now letting in only a few hundred a day, and sometimes no one.

Allowing migrants to be stranded in Greece is considered the EU’s last option to halt the relentless inflow of people from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. More and more EU governments have lost faith in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of stopping irregular migrants at Turkey, spreading bona fide refugees around the EU, and keeping Europe’s internal borders open.

Merkel warned this week of “chaos” in Greece, but other European Union leaders say there is no alternative to shutting down the Balkan migration route.

“The first priority is to rapidly stem the flows,” European Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday while visiting Croatia, a country on the now-constricted Balkan trail. Europe’s months long furor over migration “is testing our Union to the limit,” Tusk said.

Greece is rapidly becoming a pressure cooker. Refugees and other migrants are growing frustrated and angry. Hundreds tried to storm the border with Macedonia on Monday, only to be driven back with tear gas.

Chaos Cannot be Stopped

Chaos is coming one way or another. The only choice now is to accept chaos everywhere as Merkel wants or to try to limit the chaos to Greece.

That is the unpleasant choice.

Leaders Lead

Note that even European Council President Donald Tusk has abandoned Merkel.

A friend of mine who supports Merkel commented “Leaders lead. Even if it means they make unpopular choices.”

Indeed. Here are two more examples of leaders doing stupid things.

• Bush led us into an inane war in Iraq.
• Johnson led us to an inane war in Vietnam.

But hey, leaders lead. That’s what they do.

I prefer a leader willing to admit he or she made a mistake.

Mike “Mish’ Shedlock