chancellor. has that germany. meet the can. germany decides the day before the general election on t.w. day dedicated to democracy from its dramatically beginnings in germany on to the present day how is the nation of culture in election. democracy day september twenty third d w. i'm going back and let my goal has been gen when johnson of a twelve years and is running for office for the full time was magical we're delighted to have the chance to speak to you here at the johnson i mean even in the german capital expense i can go i'm pleased to welcome home grown to hello madam chancellor magnifies the guns of almost the entire world knows your face and your

name in these uncertain times of terror and war and collapsing alliances how many people are afraid of the future and place great expectations in you. know ask us what you are actually afraid of. i don't think fear is a good adviser we must face our challenges head on and we face huge tasks then we can consider what to do in my experience when the world works together we can move mountains when everyone has different opinions it can take a really long time to reach a solution at all but we negotiate talk and find one. other anything that keeps you from sleeping at night. well there are situations to which i have to devote a lot of thought such as now when i think about the question of ukraine and russia . when i think about the syrian civil war which has robbed so many millions of their home. or when i think about the nuclear tests by the north korean dictator

that naturally worries me too. but rather than fearing these problems i consider how i can solve them. you have been in office for twelve years that doesn't unlimited number of times and offers harm pluralism in society and without democracy. i don't think so there are different systems there are direct election systems where there are usually term limits for example the french and american presidential elections. in germany we elect parties and you can't limit the number of terms for parties and those parties then select their own top candidates which is why the number of terms in office is not limited. so in germany for example the number of terms of office is limited for the president germany's head of state but not for the chancellor. i understand you correctly you are opposed to limiting the period in office for chancellor to two terms for example.

as we already said you have been chancellor for twelve years and have attended many un general assembly. what do you think when you hear us president donald trump threatening north. with the total destruction and the event of an attack toward time. i am against threats of this kind and speaking for myself and the government i must say that we consider any type of military solution absolutely inappropriate and we are counting on diplomatic efforts. this must be vigorously implemented and. in my opinion sanctions and enforcing these sanctions are the right answer but anything else with regard to north korea i think is wrong and that is why we clearly disagree with the us president. did you get to talk to him after his speech. i haven't talked with him since i did speak with him before his speech

a few days ago. i also made it clear during our phone conversation that a diplomatic solution needs to be found was. trying to act as a mediator. and. i made it clear that germany is prepared to assume responsibility would alone or as part of the european union. even if this conflict is far away from germany it is one that also affects us that is why i am prepared as is the foreign minister to assume responsibility here. we took part in the go sheeting the iran agreement which i think is good and better than having no agreement at all it took many years but in the end it did limit iran's possibilities for nuclear armament. and i think we must take the same path or a similar one with russia with china together with the u.s. also in the case of north korea. also ring kim jong.

yes that's not on the agenda now i also do not intend to take steps which haven't been agreed upon that would weaken the international community of states but we can't just avoid taking responsibility either. staying with foreign policy i understand of course that you have to speak to governments who do not necessarily correspond to the level of democracy we have here. but egypt for example you signed a security agreement with egypt and according to human rights watch the interior ministry with whom you signed this agreement has itself been accused of using torture. and. we talk with every country along with the agreements we signed with them we also talk about things that bother us with egypt for example we've had long and in part very

controversial discussions about our employees from political foundations we talk about human rights abuses and situations that contravene the rule of law yet on one hand foreign policy is always about looking after our interests and on the other about safeguarding our values. and there are many reasons to help egypt become a stable country a country that enjoys a reasonable economic development. so there are reasons for us to sign a joint agreement. but it's also a country that restricts press freedom and suppresses the opposition. from d.w. for example are censored there. as i've already stated we know about this from political foundations and now for example from you. and there we clearly tell president that we criticize that that we don't think it's right but not to talk to them because everything isn't just as we would wish it or to say we won't negotiate

at all with egypt i think that's the wrong approach. because egypt needs our support and through dialogue we can perhaps take small steps towards improvement. i think the major his you that our international audience also associates you with is the refugee one central question that is always how long can refugees dangerman . what is your plan. the protected status of refugees varies on the one hand we have refugees who have been granted the full status defined by the convention on refugees there initially allowed to stay here for three years. and if after three years the situation in their homeland hasn't improved they can get permanent residency status. then they're refugees with subsidiary protection status their we look at the situation in their homeland on a yearly basis and decide accordingly so it's dependent on their protected status.

we have people who return home voluntarily such as to iraq in cities there have been liberated from i.a.s. people also return and we support these voluntary be tourney's because we want to give the people there are a reasonable chance to start over again. if the war in syria last for twenty years what will we do then if a family lives here grew up here the kids go to school and parents work. well as i said those who have the full status defined by the convention on refugees will after a certain time get permanent residency status with people who are earning a living and supporting themselves we could review their cases however let's hope the syrian conflict won't last twenty years. but given the situation in syria the people who are here at the moment have no reason to fear being sent back.

i have visited many refugee facilities and spoken with the people and there are. many refugees are becoming frustrated. right now they feel abandoned what precisely do you want to do. it took a long time to process so many applications that was a problem. but the good news is we're now down to only one hundred thousand. and hundreds of thousands have already been given a decision one way or the other. many people don't realize refugees first have to take a german course before they can start school or job training. and that takes time. but we do our utmost to get young people into education. and even those without a full residence permit can work or learn a trade. nevertheless

many german bureaucracy has been very slow and would like to be able to enter the labor market much faster. but we cannot allow that either because we cannot allow destructive competition that perhaps germans who are seeking employment cannot find certain jobs we have to keep on finding a balance there. germany is an orderly country but that means things may take a little longer and i can only ask. her most recent like to focus on another group that has been living in germany for a long time people of turkish origin we keep hearing that many of them still feel a question as to where they actually belong hasn't been answered could this perhaps also be due to the fact that your party still doesn't accept that germany is an immigration country. we have long since said goodbye to the

times when we called these people guest workers everyone is able to acquire german citizenship that means people with turkish roots can become just as german as those whose families may have lived here for centuries. i always tell people who've been here a long time but might not have german citizenship that they have contributed to the prosperity of our country and therefore belong here if they obey the law of course . what worries us is the fact that different groups from turkey are maybe spying on or surveilling each other we do not want that. i don't want to import any conflicts from turkey to germany we will make sure that all groups can live here peacefully and unharmed. how exactly do you want to do that make sure that precisely that doesn't happen. by investigating every case by really encouraging people who feel they are being watched to inform us and then taking decisive action

against the respective sources or those doing that. almost all of your coalition partners want a real immigration law i'm not talking about the law regulating the immigration of skilled workers but about a real immigration law is that something you are willing to negotiate on. i believe that our proposed law on skilled workers is exactly what others might describe as an immigration law. we say that our country needs to bring in skilled workers we have a shortage of specialists and the european union's blue card scheme offers us very good options for immigration especially for high earners with academic degrees. we'd like to improve this and extend it to simple occupations. but these need to be linked to the existence of a real job that cannot be filled any other way. and i think that is the right thing

to do because we do not want immigrants to end up in our welfare system as a service is non-negotiable few. details have to be negotiated we know for example that canada has long preferred a point based system but is now also looking at the question what jobs to we actually want to fill it needs to be said that immigration laws are always aimed to serve the needs of the country into which people come. by contrast asylum laws the refugee convention is a humanitarian obligation that is not tied to a workplace. and these are two separate issues. that is why we've made our position clear by naming it the law regulating the immigration of skilled workers. and. chancellor of germany is voting this sunday according to the f.t.

could become the third or strongest party in the border start haven't you been able to prevent this. so i do not wish to speculate about the outcome of the election as you can understand but i will call on the as many people as possible to support what we in the c.d.u. and c.s.u. are offering with their votes. are two parties have had certain disagreements especially about the euro and its stabilization also on refugee policy. i believe these were fundamental decisions for europe for the single currency and for humanitarian commitments. they have naturally also provoked discussions throughout society some of them heated. but i think these decisions were both correct and necessary and that is why we must try to solve the problems that are connected to. people's trust and let them know that every vote counts but in certain situations

fundamental decisions like these have to be made. us germany's international broadcaster many people keep asking us germany are so well off you have good schools you have decent health care and a good retirement program. yet despite all this the f d this populist right wing party is so successful can you try to explain this to our international viewers. i don't know explain this because i will never work with the f.t. but i just want to say that there are indeed people in germany who have problems this does not justify certain political attitudes or exclusion but we must also work very hard to ensure that we have equal living conditions. we have rural areas where internet access is slow to arrive in which there is a shortage of doctors. we have people who have worked for many years and still have a very small pension. and that is why even though our country ranks highly by

international standards here too many people have to struggle to make ends meet. sent within or with by modeling to going to and of writing another question about the f.t. according to polls some of those has who up to now have voted for the c.d.u. or c.s.u. are migrating to the f.d.a. do you have an idea on how to win these voters but how. can your views and we are not the only ones affected by this phenomenon of mine on my answer is clear to solve people's problems the worries they have having their own jobs as well as decent schools and doctors to really take care of these issues but on the other hand to signal a clear stop to hatred and violence. house or divides us it's a matter of us maggie thank you very much to finish we always like to ask the same question imagine you had to spend one month on

a desert island and could only survive if you took one of these people with you as one of the other party candidates. to choose one of these people you want survive it women i'd take your him how many c.d.u. n.c.s. you your other mammal or our international audience you're welcome hammon is the partner to chancellor merkel c.d.u. what would you discuss with him on the desert island sometime in the spring of the examine them. i would discuss with him how we can improve internal security in germany and perhaps he would ask me a few policy issues that he hasn't dealt with yet. that so for those guys i think you very much ms magazine you're welcome your mom's most and i will always finish with a quick selfie on which you are more mature a hundred you pass me the mobile phone please go through your market are going to have everything in order with.

this is the town of bitter fat in eastern germany. and at gammon the woman with the red ponytail considers macko an enemy she wants to throw are out of office. for the. rest of us he's done nothing for germans just foreign else does and says even just a. bit of her does a stronghold of the wrecked wing populist a.f.d. party. many local residents don't like the chance there or her government and they make that clear when she arrives for her speech yeah. that's right also exists in many refugees came to germany in twenty fifteen her money there was

a humanitarian emergency a listing it's once to come see. well this may stem the in them in this just enough i would like to thank all the local politicians it's again the volunteers the churches and n.g.o.s and associations for all they did to help people get justice you know under immense gets on. the crowd reaction is mixed some obviously disagree with the chancellor. many of the refugees are following the election campaign closely. but on and off shah and his friends arrived from afghanistan in two thousand and fifteen. they don't understand why the f.t. supporters are so upset. some of them don't have jobs or money so they complain about mrs merkel but that's wrong in germany everyone can work get training and

find a good job and. i think. the chancellor makes a low profile departure she just as soon avoid this crowd. this is the city of new digs often in southwestern germany some c.d.u. supporters are also opposed to merkel's refugee policy. it's just. i'm really concerned i want my country to be safe i want secure borders so we know he were letting in. a year ago mark those poll numbers were down many blamed her for a series of terrorist attacks but she managed to regain much of her popularity still there are some here who are not pleased with the chancellor. there shouting get out and america must go. nuts. of course islamist terrorism poses

a huge challenge. but we can't find it with shouting doing writing no five in the day kandice says thirty not sure. we can only face the challenge by working together you know when you win and by working with the european union europe is important for us security both at home and abroad. merkel is by no means a nationalist but she does understand the concepts of german homeland prosperity and security. guard can learn more a better arrived from syria and twenty sixteen after their homeland prosperity and security were destroyed in the civil war their. invention if you are doing so would

not must use even though it is easy effects even going so you thought you were hearing these storms or. to see this wonderful woman is like a dream come true for me. i can't describe it. after the chancellor has left the stage one of her staffers poses for a few selfies. so. she also plays down the role of the right wing hecklers says the beginning in the middle how people always travel around with. it is part of democracy but it doesn't speak very well for a country in a democracy it's important to listen to others you can be critical but always treat others with respect and. nuremberg in southern germany the c.d.u. c.s.u.

is pro-business wing is meeting at the convention center. they've been some of america's most outspoken critics and. recent years and they've often contradicted or in public. or year ago the chancellor would have felt like she was walking into a lion's den but the internal party criticism has died down. here american focus is on economic success is in the digital future not refugees. footsie yeah let's be honest cause when i became chancellor tens sorry twelve years ago no one had a smartphone dogge that money would alter the cost to sign autographs there were no selfies it's been going up things have changed this since all the time when families sit around the table for them and looking at their whatsapp messages under the table. we have to remember to talk to each other and not focus on communicating with someone on the other side of the well or to your mum's on some of that city.

america has managed to turn her campaign around and she's done it quietly to even her critics including cost and then a month to admit that she has changed things for the better. good day it's not evil there is now some consensus the chancellor herself says that there can be no repeat of twenty fifteen yes everyone has to work towards successful integration because people are coming to us from very different cultures there's a very clear agreement on it at the cons and it's time to. really get on with the said then and then it's on to the next stop. go right to our security and just i just want to see the right man the day of the t.v. debate between the two top candidates for chancellor. it's the first time the two candidates are squaring off against each other yes p.d.s.

marty insurance is far behind in the polls the debate could help him to improve his ratings the reruns up to then the rebate is under way now go present yourself as an indispensable crisis manager but the moderator challenges her on her apparent attempts to try to be all things to all people yes yes yes yes no it's not my thing that people change in the course of their lives but the challenges that they think are always new don't realize the father of the company was marching troops attack the chancellor on her refugee policy that. in an interview with mrs merkel said that she would do what she did in twenty fifteen again if she had to i would not recommend that. we made the mistake of not involving our european partners we presented them with a done deal. and this means that today the home darian and polish leaders are

shirking their responsibilities in poland so joseph audible. after the debate merkel met some of her more enthusiastic supporters got to get something to get something with every thought i thought everybody was like whatever god. i want. to know. in the post polls indicate that most germans think that will be reelected a lot of voters seem to have calmed down now. these

problems need to be addressed more aggressively we have to change people's mentality kenya a country in a vicious circle of poverty. but some people work hard to improve things long term i believe that education is the best empowerment that you can give to any child in

this world and we try to give them education. kenya's forgotten children. fifteen and. with different languages we fight for different things that's fine let me all stick up for freedom freedom of speech and freedom of press. giving freedom of choice. global news that matters t.w. made four minds. d.w. true diversity. where the world of science is at home in many languages. on top of programming going there you know. now with us our innovations magazine for asia the us from every week and always looking to the future fund d w dot com science and research for asia.

folks. there's a saying amongst many tribes in north america that before a tribal decision is made the elders consider seven generations in the future such where two hundred years in the future how is this affect the well being of the tribe i have never heard a politician in the united states talk about seven generations in the future. or not without the only for our well being to say i suggested new think in terms of the native people think less about personal ownership. possessions the more a matter of community this is our opportunity to live here for a while. as

take germany decides what is your take on the whole position regarding not only climate change. what do you want to know about germany's general election. plus a diplomatic front they're going to. ask w. your questions about germany but it's i had to manage to get a whatnot at the end. write to us on facebook we'll answer your questions. your north korean leader kim jong un has said that u.s. president donald trump will pay dearly for his threats that softer trump announced new sanctions against north korea and threaten to toe.