At the beginning of this year, Angela Merkelhad a good claim to be the most successful politician in the world. The German chancellor had won three successive election victories. She was the dominant political figure in Europe and hugely popular at home. But the refugee crisis that has broken over Germany is likely to spell the end of the Merkel era.

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 the end of the Merkel era. With the country in line to receive more than a million asylum-seekers this year alone, public anxiety is mounting -- and so is criticism of Ms Merkel, from within her own party. Some of her close political allies acknowledge that it is now distinctly possible that the chancellor will have to leave office, before the next general election in 2017. Even if she sees out a full term, the notion of a fourth Merkel administration, widely discussed a few months 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。