Scholz’s governing coalition has also struggled to respond to mounting discontent over immigration. After a lull during the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has faced a rebound in new arrivals, with 6.6 million people arriving in the country over the past decade. Germany now accounts for a third of all asylum applications in Europe. It has experienced a wave of crimes—including a
spate of terrorist attacks—committed by foreigners, according to police statistics, and is spending €30 billion, equivalent to $32.2 billion, a year on migrants, mainly in the form of welfare benefits.