LONDON — German politicians have struck a welcoming tone toward Afghan refugees as voters gear up to choose a new leader next month, but experts warn this could be short lived.In recent days, Germany, like many other Western countries, has been working to evacuate Germans and Afghan citizens who have supported its work on the ground over the past 20 years from Afghanistan.Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Berlin could grant asylum to about 10,000 Afghans. Germany’s foreign office said Wednesday that since Monday, around 1600 persons had been evacuated, including Germans, Afghans and nationals of international partners.However, the withdrawal of American and allied troops from Afghanistan and the ensuing take over by the Taliban has sparked fears of a new wave of asylum seekers at Europe’s shores. The arrival of over 1.2 million refugees in 2015, mostly fleeing war in Syria, proved a tough and divisive subject for Europe’s leaders, however. This was particularly true in Germany, where nearly half a million refugees applied for asylum, according to the U.N.’s refugee agency.At the time, Merkel was criticized for keeping the German borders open to those fleeing to safety, even though she also negotiated a relocation scheme within the EU designed to share the burden across the member states.However, Holger Schmieding, chief euro zone economist at Berenberg, said this time, the tone is different.“These are people who worked for the German forces or German aid agencies - and the number of eligible people seems to be very limited,” Schmieding told CNBC via email.“There is not much positioning except playing the blame game. Even a co-leader of the AfD, Meuthen, admitted that Germany has a moral duty to take in those who worked for the German forces in Afghanistan,” he added.The AfD (Alternative for Germany) is a right-wing party that gained momentum in the wake of the refugee crisis of 2015 and entered the German parliament for the first time in 2017.cnbc.com