Merkel takes tough line on integration to party cheers

By Hakan Erdem

MAINZ, Germany (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel told conservative party members on Saturday that immigrants needed to do more to integrate into German society, including learning the language and obeying "every single" law.

Merkel, whose popularity has plunged since she won re-election a year ago, appeared to be reaching out to the right wing of her Christian Democrats (CDU) -- which has complained about her pushing the party toward the political center.

Her comments follow weeks of heated debate over a best-selling book by ex-central banker Thilo Sarrazin, in which he accuses Turkish and Arab immigrants of lowering Germany's intelligence quotient and living off the state.

Merkel and most of Germany's political establishment initially condemned Sarrazin, but his views struck a chord with the public and many right-wing members of her CDU.

"Anyone who wants to live here in our country has to obey our laws, want to learn our language and accept the rules of our society and every single article of our constitution," Merkel told a cheering CDU party meeting in the western town of Mainz.

"That means everything from equal rights for women and everything else -- that's our motto and there's no tolerance for anything else," said Merkel, whose center-right coalition has fallen about 15 points behind the opposition in opinion polls.

There are about four million Muslims living in Germany. The vast majority are of Turkish origin and an estimated 280,000 have an Arab background.

Some are well integrated into German society, but others live in communities where Muslim traditions prevail and very little German is spoken.