Islamist terror is Germany's greatest threat: Merkel

On September 5, 2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed refugees who had been detained in Hungary to come to Germany; she announced an open-door program for refugees, hoping the rest of the EU would follow.

However, what followed was a severe criticism of her policy (especially after the Cologne incident) and a political loss of face for the CDU/CSU coalition.

The sudden influx of refugees into Germany led to a rise of German nationalism, changing the country's political landscape.

Any instances of minorities indulging in criminal acts were immediately linked to the failure of Merkel's policy, fomenting political dissent.

The right-wing-nationalist Alternative for Germany party rose to prominence and is likely to be voted into the German Parliament as a new party in 2017.

July 2016 witnessed a spate of violence; on 18 July, an Afghan refugee attacked people on a train with an axe, wounding 5 before being shot by police.

On 22 July, a German-Iranian teenager shot 9 people and killed himself in Munich; on 24 July, a refugee whose asylum request was rejected blew himself up outside a bar in Ansbach, wounding 15.

Twelve people were killed when Tunisian asylum seeker, Anis Amri drove a truck at crowd at a Berlin Christmas market two weeks ago; Chancellor Merkel said it was "sickening" when acts of terror were carried out by people who had sought protection.

The news provided political ammunition to far-right parties in Germany, making Merkel's refugee policy more indefensible for the CDU.

In her new year's message, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed upon the fact that Islamist terror remained the greatest threat to Germany; calling the Berlin truck attack "sickening", she said 2016 had been a year of "severe tests".

She stated that despite the attacks Germany remained "free, considerate and open."

Her refugee policy has been criticized, leading to heavy political losses for her party.