BERLIN (AP) " Chancellor Angela Merkel's most prominent domestic critic in the migrant crisis sent conciliatory signals Tuesday, welcoming her acknowledgement that an unabated influx would overburden Germany while making clear he will keep up the pressure to cut new arrivals.
Bavarian governor Horst Seehofer drew polite applause at a conference of Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union " a day after Merkel rallied her party behind her approach, winning a nine-minute standing ovation.
Seehofer leads the Christian Social Union, the CDU's Bavaria-only sister party, and has sniped for months at her welcoming approach. Last month, he lectured her onstage at his party's congress. On Tuesday, he stressed the value of unity.
Seehofer's CSU has called for a specific limit on the number of refugees Germany can take, which Merkel rejects as unfeasible. She stresses instead the importance of finding a diplomatic solution for the crisis with the rest of Europe and with Turkey.
On Monday, Merkel pledged to "appreciably reduce the number of refugees" and said Germany would be "overburdened" if refugees continued to arrive in such large numbers. While she didn't promise specific new action, that wording in a motion on refugee policy helped persuade CDU members to drop a demand for a specific refugee limit.