Photo Gallery Fighting for Survival
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had already granted Christian Social Union head Horst Seehofer plenty of compromises. But his demand that refugees be turned back and Germany's border without an EU agreement governing such a practice was a bridge too far. And as usual, she came out of the tiff on top.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who is the head of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats, told his party he intended to step down. But then he remained in office. His conflict with Merkel is almost sure to hurt his party in Bavarian state elections this fall.
Alexander Dobrindt is head of the CSU parliamentary group in Berlin. He was among those who refused to accept Seehofer's threat that he would resign.
The long-term winner of the spat between Seehofer and Merkel might ultimately be Bavarian Governor Markus Söder. He has been sawing away at Seehofer's authority for quite some time.
