今年初，安格拉·默克尔有很好的理由号称世界上最成功的政界人士。这位德国总理已连续三次胜选。她是欧洲最具影响力的政治人物，在国内也广受欢迎。然而，冲向德国的难民危机很可能预示着"默克尔时代"的终结。

　　But the refugee crisis that has broken over Germany is likely to spell theend of the Merkel era. With the country in line to receive more than a millionasylum-seekers this year alone, public anxiety is mounting — and so is criticismof Ms Merkel, from within her own party. Some of her close political alliesacknowledge that it is now distinctly possible that the chancellor will have toleave office, before the next general election in 2017. Even if she sees out afull term, the notion of a fourth Merkel administration, widely discussed a fewmonths ago, now seems improbable.

　　由于仅今年就要接收超过100万寻求庇护者，德国公众的焦虑情绪正在上升，党内对默克尔的批评也越来越多。几位与她关系密切的政治盟友承认，现在看来很有可能的是默克尔不得不在2017年下届大选前下台。即使她做完这一任期，几个月前还被广泛讨论的第四届默克尔政府如今看来已不太可能。

　　In some ways, all this is deeply unfair. Ms Merkel did not cause the Syriancivil war, or the troubles of Eritrea or Afghanistan. Her response to the plightof the millions of refugees displaced by conflict has been bold andcompassionate. The trouble is that Ms Merkel’s government has clearly lostcontrol of the situation. German officials publicly endorse the chancellor’sdeclaration that "We can do this". But there is panic just beneath the surface:costs are mounting, social services are creaking, Ms Merkel’s poll ratings arefalling and far-right violence is on the rise.

　　从某些方面看，这一切对默克尔非常不公。叙利亚内战、厄立特里亚或阿富汗的困境并非默克尔造成。她对数百万因冲突而流离失所的难民的回应是大胆而富有同情心的。问题是默克尔政府显然已经失去了对局势的控制。虽然德国官员公开支持总理的声明——"我们可以做到"，但表面之下隐藏着恐慌：开支越来越大，社会服务体系不堪重负，默克尔的民意支持率正在下滑，而极右暴力事件正在增多。

　　Could Ms Merkel still turn the situation around? If the German governmentgets lucky, the coming of winter will slow the flow of refugees, providing abreathing space to organise the reception of asylum seekers and to come up withnew arrangements with transit countries, particularly Turkey. Regardless of thechancellor’s personal fate and reputation, the refugee crisis marks a turningpoint.

　　默克尔还能扭转局势吗?如果德国政府幸运的话，冬天的到来将减缓难民流入，可以为安排收容寻求庇护者，并与难民过境国家(尤其是土耳其)一起制定新的安排提供喘息空间。姑且不论默克尔的个人命运和声誉，这场难民危机标志着一个转折点。