BERLIN (Reuters) - Under pressure to toughen their stance on migrants, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives called on Thursday for an effective ban on the burqa, saying the full body covering worn by some Muslim women should not be worn in public.
In its main resolution for a looming party congress in the city of Karlsruhe that is shaping up as a test of Merkel's authority, the leadership of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) resisted calls by some members for an "Obergrenze", or cap on the number of refugees entering Germany.
But to satisfy the critics, they adopted tough language on a range of immigration-related subjects, from security to integration.
Roughly one million asylum seekers, many from Muslim countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are expected to arrive in Germany this year, far more than in any other European country. This has hit support for the ruling CDU and pushed down Merkel's popularity ratings.
Some members of her own party say she must get the number of arrivals down by the time three state elections are held in March or her hopes of running for a fourth term in 2017 would be in danger. ...
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