Is Angela Merkel lashing out at immigrants to increase her popularity since she has been a failure?

In recent months, Merkel's popularity in the polls had fallen to an all time low as she supported bailouts for other EU nations. In Germany she drew fire for helping foreigners and of course foreigners are highly unpopular in Germany it would seem. It only makes sense from a pragmatic point of view that she would turn on the domestic minorities to regain popularity. But is this the only way a German leader can think to get ahead?