Following a deadly knife attack in Germany, the main opposition party is urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to abandon the government’s immigration policy and work together to implement a series of tough measures to deter migrants, according to Euractiv.
Three people were killed and eight injured in a knife attack in Solingen, central-western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on Friday, 23 August. The 26-year-old Syrian suspect surrendered a day later.
In response, Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative opposition Christian Democrats, stated on Sunday that Germany’s current immigration policy should be cancelled and called on Scholz to work with him. Germany should “reinstate the rules of the Dublin Regulations,” making it impossible to apply for asylum if the applicant travelled through another EU country before reaching Germany, he added.
He also proposed to repeal Germany’s new citizenship law, which recently shortened the time required to obtain German citizenship.
In the run-up to land elections in eastern Germany, immigration policy and tighter border controls have become a campaign issue alongside the war in Ukraine, especially for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is leading in polls in two of the three election states.
Refugees are involved in the majority [of knife attacks], and Islamist motives are behind most of the attacks.
On Saturday, ISIS said the attacker was a “soldier of the Islamic State” who carried out the attack “in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.” Federal prosecutors are investigating the migrant on suspicion of membership of a terrorist organisation.
I call on you to join us in making decisions quickly and without further delay that are consistently geared towards preventing further terrorist attacks like the one last Friday in our country.
However, on Sunday, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck expressed doubt as to “whether the terrible crime […] could have been prevented with stricter laws.” Despite this, Home Secretary Nancy Faeser said that the government would now discuss “which instruments we need to further sharpen to combat terror and violence and which powers our security authorities need in these times.”
