“After Solingen, all issues must be brought to the table”

The suspected Islamist-motivated knife attack in Solingen that left three people dead is fueling debates about tightening gun laws and the future course of migration policy – ​​one week before the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia.

This is what the Union says: CDU leader Friedrich Merz has used the attack and the results of the investigation so far as an opportunity to write a letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). In it, he called on the federal government to make a U-turn in its migration policy. “The problem is not the knives, but the people who carry them around,” said Merz in the email, which was made available to the AFP news agency. “In the majority of cases, these are refugees, and in the majority of the crimes, there are Islamist motives behind them,” Merz continued.

CSU leader Markus Söder sees deficits in the authorities’ powers. “We do not have the right tools to react to and against violence.” “When you drive a car, you are checked without any reason. Not in pedestrian zones.”

Islamist perpetrators radicalize quickly

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil calls for a package of measures against Islamist terrorism. “We see again and again that perpetrators become radicalized on the Internet over a period of just a few months,” Klingbeil told the Funke newspapers.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) announces a fight against Islamism “with all necessary severity”. “We are discussing intensively which instruments we need to further sharpen to combat terror and violence and which powers our security authorities need in these times to protect our population as best as possible.” Faeser had already announced a legislative proposal to extend knife bans before the attack in Solingen.

This is how the Greens see it: “There can be no tolerance for murderers, terrorists and Islamists.” If they are asylum seekers, for example, they have “lost their right to protection” in Germany, says Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck. He also called for stricter gun laws. There must be “more gun-free zones and stricter gun laws.” “Nobody has to carry stabbing or cutting weapons in public spaces in Germany. We no longer live in the Middle Ages.”

“After Solingen, all issues must be brought to the table”

This is what the FDP sayswhich has so far been critical of tightening gun laws: Now FDP Justice Minister Marco Buschmann indicates approval: “After Solingen, all issues must be put on the table: The gun law is not a taboo,” .

AfD leader Alice Weidel The problem must be “tackle at its roots”. An “immediate turnaround in migration” is needed.

Also Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks out and advocates better protection against attacks. More personnel for the security authorities, but in the case of terrorist threats, an expansion of the powers of the Federal Criminal Police Office, for example, is also conceivable. He also calls for social cohesion. “It is now important that we in Germany do not allow ourselves to be divided and split.”

On Sunday, Thuringia and Saxony will vote

The background: One day after the attack that left three dead and eight injured, the jihadist militia Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. Shortly afterwards, a 26-year-old Syrian turned himself in to the authorities. The Federal Prosecutor General is investigating, and an arrest warrant was issued on Sunday.

The debates about the lessons learned from the attack were also held before the Background to the state elections next week in Thuringia and Saxony According to an Insa survey for “Bild am Sonntag”, the AfD could become the strongest force in both federal states. In Saxony it received 32 percent, and in Thuringia it was 30 percent.