Clinton: Europe must deal with migration to stop right-wing populism



New York - Europe needs to curb migration to combat the rise of right-wing populism, Hillary Clinton told the Guardian newspaper in an exclusive interview published on Thursday.



Despite a sharp drop in migrant arrivals since the crisis of 2015-2016, when more than a million people reached Europe, migration policy is top priority across the EU and countries such as Italy and Austria have seen a rise of anti-immigration right-wing governments.
"I think Europe needs to get a handle on migration because that is what lit the flame," the former US presidential candidate told the Guardian.
Clinton said that while she admires the "very generous and compassionate approaches" on migration taken by leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe has "done its part" and should prioritize citizens' concerns about race and identity issues.
Merkel, who has announced she will not seek re-election in 2021, started seeing her star fading since her decision in September 2015 to leave Germany's borders open to allow about 1 million refugees to enter the nation.
Clinton went on to say that Americans' concerns about race and identity issues have been "very much exploited" by US President Donald Trump's administration.
She spoke of "the use of immigrants as a political device and as a symbol of government gone wrong."
The former New York senator also suggested that people in the US may "want to be told what to do and where to go and how to live … and only given one version of reality."
"It's a serious threat to our freedom and our democratic institutions, and it goes very deep and very far and we've got to do a better job of shining a light on it and trying to combat it," she said.

 


Friday, November 23rd 2018
(dpa)
           


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