Clueless Angela Merkel tried to TRAIN migrants as LORRY DRIVERS ahead of Berlin attack
ANGELA MERKEL tried to force German trade unions to accept asylum seekers as lorry drivers in a bitter row shortly before the Christmas market tragedy in Berlin.
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Twelve
people were killed and 48 others injured when a man suspected of being
an asylum seeker and part of the Islamic State terrorist group drove
into a Christmas market in the country's capital.
Up
to £84,000 (100,000€) have been offered to find the 23-year-old
Tunisian Anis Amri, who is believed to be armed and dangerous.
But
as the country mourns the tragedy ahead of the festive season, it was
revealed that Merkel had put massive pressure on unions to speed up the
process in which unskilled refugees could be trained as lorry drivers.
GETTY
She
said that the plan was to get a change in the rules to make it cheaper
for them to apply for a licence, with the plan for them to pay just £420
(500€) to swap a Syrian driving licence for a German one.
Unveiling
the plan she said: "We all need to be ready to implement practical
solutions. We have only recently discussed in the Cabinet the
possibilities of allowing a Syrian driving licence to be converted to a
German one for 500€.
CATERS
"And
of course not every refugee will have 500 EUR, so what we want to do is
set up a loan program where they can borrow the money. Then when they
have been working, they can pay the 500€ back. At the end of the day,
lorry drivers are needed all over the place."
The Organisation of German Professional Lorry Drivers (BDBK) led the opposition to the plan.
At
the time, BDBK chairman Wolfgang Westermann said: "We give a definite
no to use refugees as lorry drivers. Professional lorry drivers need a
thorough and qualified education. You cannot let everyone drive off in a
40-ton lorry."
The GPS data of the highjacked
lorry used in the Christmas market attack allegedly showed the
difficulties for an untrained person learning to drive such a lorry.
AFP
The
manager of the Polish transport company which owns the lorry, said that
the alleged perpetrator most likely did not have experience behind the
wheel.
Ariel Zurawski said: "The GPS data suggests that somebody first needed to practice his driving."
He explained that GPS data show that the lorry was driving in an "uncontrolled manner."