Cologne’s aftershocks

FOR a brief moment at the turn of the year, Angela Merkel seemed to have recaptured control of Germany’s careering debate over refugees. The chancellor’s traditional New Year’s Eve address was acclaimed for striking just the right note. For the first time ever it was broadcast with subtitles, in Arabic and English, so that refugees as well as Germans would get her message. Mrs Merkel reminded the 1.1m asylum-seekers who arrived in Germany in 2015 to respect German rules and traditions. She urged her German viewers not to let themselves be divided, and warned of “those who, with coldness or even hatred in their hearts, lay sole claim to be German and seek to exclude others”.

Yet even as Mrs Merkel was speaking, about a thousand men, described by police as mainly migrants of north African or Arab origin, began massing between Cologne’s railway station and cathedral, where fireworks were about to begin. Around midnight they broke into clusters and formed huddles around women who had turned out to celebrate. They then set upon the women, harassing and groping them, stripping them of clothing and valuables. One victim was raped. Of the more than 600 women who have since come forward, many described the ordeal as “running the gauntlet”.