German government to stick to refugee policy despite election results

Berlin: The German government will stick by its existing migrant policy, a spokesman for the German government said on Monday, after the anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) made strong gains in regional elections on Sunday.
Asked if the results in three German states, where support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives dwindled, would lead to a change in policy, Steffen Seibert said: "The German government will continue to pursue its refugee policy with all its might both at home and abroad."
Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that there is no question that Germany has benefited from the closure of the Balkan migrant route north into Europe, though she vowed to press ahead with her quest for a Europe-wide solution to the refugee crisis.
"Regarding the Balkan route, yes, there is no doubt that Germany, at the moment, benefits from the fact that fewer people are coming and that also is connected to the closure of the Greek-Macedonian border," Merkel said during a news conference.
"I have never spoken out against national measures. I have spoken out in favour of border controls, better registration, deportations, the asylum packages," she added when asked if more national, rather than Europe-wide, measures should be deployed.