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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451

Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have "utterly failed", Chancellor Angela Merkel says.

She said the so-called "multikulti" concept - where people would "live side-by-side" happily - did not work, and immigrants needed to do more to integrate - including learning German.

The comments come amid rising anti-immigration feeling in Germany.

A recent survey suggested more than 30% of people believed the country was "overrun by foreigners".

Seems to be a feeling that is shared amongst more Western European countries.

Big news right now. No idea why but every country is talking about it.... I honestly cannot phantom this importance. What are ur views on the subject FD?

Its a difficult and also very wide subject I think. You mainly hear this, that multiculti is dead, in Western European countries. What is generally meant with the death of multi-culti I believe is that Germany should stay predominantly German, Britain should stay British and Holland should stay predominantly Dutch. And with that I agree. I go to India to get a taste of Indian culture, to Turkey to experience Turkish culture or to Sweden to see Swedish culture. Nothing wrong with that, that doesn't mean that there isnt room for other peoples and cultures, but they should integrate (not necessarily assimilate).
On one side I am with the left who introduced the concept of multiculturalism that diversity can be a very positive force in a society, I disagree however with their cultural relativism that it implies.
Where multiculti went wrong is that several cultures didn't mix. In a lot of Western European countries different groups are living completely seperate from each other. What caused irritation with the locals is the positive discrimination towards a lot of minorities who refuse to integrate.
Although I agree that multiculti failed on many levels in Europe, the danger is an extreme right-wing backlash...

FD thanks for the reply. Sums it up pretty well,

That said I often hear these reports about Europe's demographic divedend problem. Which would basically imply that like it or not, EU countries would be forced to usher in immigrants. I'd like to know Is the demographic divedend a genuine issue? Or is it one merely blown out of proportion.

When she say's multikulti has failed what is exactly meant by that? Is a sign of things to come? Is is a wake up call to immigrants? Or is just a ramblin to appease her party?

And lastly you stated that the danger is an extreme right wing backlash? Could you elaborate a lil more on that?

Misery Called Life wrote:I'd like to know Is the demographic divedend a genuine issue?

Yes it is, just look at the pension funds. Pensions are cut because of this. Pensions are a very eloborate pyramid game in a way based on demographics (and of course the stock exchange). While the general populations of Western populations become geyer and greyer, the work force ratio becomes less and less favorable.

Misery Called Life wrote:When she say's multikulti has failed what is exactly meant by that?

Thats where multikulti becomes such a different concept. On one hand peoples should be able to keep their own culture, while on other they are asked to respect a minimum of local culture. The last bit starts with learning the local language and thats were it already failed.

Misery Called Life wrote:Is a sign of things to come?

Depends what is meant with things to come. Whats certainly coming is that immigration laws will become tougher and that local authorities will be stricter on new-comers and less lenient. More nationalist laws will be implemented. And that can also go the wrong way. Europe had more than its fair share of troubles caused by nationalism. After WWII, patriotism in some countries was looked at with caution. However, somehow people want to be proud of their country/nation. This was repressed in a way for a long time, but this could also explode, with severe consequences.

Misery Called Life wrote:Is is a wake up call to immigrants? Or is just a ramblin to appease her party?

It is certainly a wake up call to learn the language. Not sure whether she is trying to appease her party, but she is certainly reacting to some genuine feelings within the population

Misery Called Life wrote:And lastly you stated that the danger is an extreme right wing backlash? Could you elaborate a lil more on that?

The backlash could be an over-reaction to real problems in society. Take Geert Wilders. While many people state they will never vote for him, they do have some sympathies towards him, because he addresses a problem that was placed under the carpet too long. The extreme right can play on those feelings of dissatisfied people and they feel that finally somebody listens to them, while not seeing where the 'solutions' might lead to.

America is a nation of immigrants.

Europeans aren't used to that idea - where immigrants would arrive in European countries, it was from other European nations and the immigrants all saw themselves as European and quickly adopted the culture of their host nation. And when these waves of immigrants did arrive before the second war, there wasn't a paradigm shift in the attitude of the locals that their nations suddenly became destinations for other people to immigrate to.

So, it's a bit understandable that some people don't want to continue this trend, they've given it a test trial and haven't seen any benefits from having anyone coming to their countries and creating waves. Truth be told, I don't blame the Europeans for much of the problems they are experiencing. Yes, some nations segregated their immigrants off, but others, such as Britain, spearheaded this multiculturalism nonsense - and the problem in Britain is worse than it is in France!

I just hope some European countries get wise soon before their countries pretty much fall apart.