The deadly knife attack in Solingen has left people deeply unsettled. Politicians want to prove they are capable of taking action. But how?
With a stony face, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) steps into the sea of flowers and grave candles at Fronhof on the third day after the fatal knife attack in the heart of Solingen. The corners of his mouth are turned down as he lays down a white rose in memory of the victims of the attack. Scholz has come to the Bergisch town, which is still in a state of shock on Monday, as a sign of solidarity.
Scholz stands between NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and Solingen’s Mayor Tim Kurzbach (SPD). All politicians remain silent, lay down roses, and pause briefly with their hands folded. Then they walk past the site of the attack to a meeting place to speak to firefighters and rescue workers who were on duty on Friday evening.
They talk for almost an hour behind closed doors. Wüst will later say that young paramedics were on site after the attack, which left three dead and eight injured, and that they exceeded their own expectations and are still overwhelmed with tears when they see the terrible images again.
People demand political unity
“Why” is written in red letters on a piece of cardboard between the flowers. But the most pressing question on Monday is already: “What to do?” The 100 or so people standing at a great distance behind the barriers and watching the Chancellor’s appearance want answers – and they want security. Many of them have a migrant background, like Emran Gadi, for example. He came to Solingen as a baby more than 30 years ago. “I expect the politicians to come to an agreement among themselves and find solutions.” His family also fled from Serbia to escape the war. But anyone who does not integrate and adapt in Germany does not belong here.
“There must be more strict immigration,” says 57-year-old Cari Quispe de Mergard, who moved to the city from Peru 30 years ago. “We expect more security.” At the city festival in Solingen, the suspected perpetrator – a rejected asylum seeker from Syria – stabbed the man in the middle of the crowd in front of the stage. It has since emerged that he was supposed to have been deported to Bulgaria last year, but this failed. The mood is nervous. Some onlookers are arguing about whether they should vote for the AfD in the future.
Scholz promises tough measures – but nothing concrete yet
The Chancellor cannot yet give concrete answers to the citizens’ anxious questions during his visit to the crime scene. He is standing in front of the stage, which is still set up, where people had fled in panic from the attacker. A red candle flickers on a video screen. Scholz speaks at length and quietly, so that even those standing around can hardly hear him. But his words are clear and moving. He is angry and furious about this act. “That was terrorism. Terrorism against all of us, which threatens our lives, our coexistence, the way we live.”
The Chancellor promises that the state will take tough and severe action against criminals with the worst intentions. He announces a rapid implementation of the already planned tightening of gun laws and more consistent deportations – not for the first time. Almost a year ago, in an interview with “Spiegel”, he had already promised to deport people “on a large scale”. Later, he held out the prospect of making it possible to deport criminals to Syria and Afghanistan again. Neither of these has yet been implemented.
Wüst: “Announcements alone will not be enough”
“Announcements alone will not be enough,” warns NRW Prime Minister Wüst (CDU) in Solingen following Scholz. The day before, CDU leader Friedrich Merz presented a list of demands with measures that he now considers necessary. This includes not only the general possibility of deporting rejected asylum seekers back to Syria and Afghanistan, but also a stop to accepting people from these countries.
Merz is also in favor of permanent controls and consistent rejections at the German borders, as well as the reinstatement of the so-called Dublin rules. According to these, the EU state responsible for an asylum application is usually the one where the asylum seeker first set foot on European soil. Merz also wants to change the right of residence and take “every criminal who is required to leave the country into unlimited deportation custody.”
“Germany Pact” on migration failed in November
Merz will take this list into talks with Scholz on Tuesday to find out whether the government and the largest opposition party can still find common ground on the issue of migration. A first attempt failed miserably last autumn.
At that time, the Chancellor and the opposition leader had held talks on the subject before a migration summit between the federal and state governments. However, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag was dissatisfied with the package of measures subsequently agreed by Scholz and the state premiers – including a whole series of heads of government from the CDU and CSU – to reduce the number of refugees and rejected further cooperation. Scholz had refused to set up a joint working group of the government and the Union to control immigration, he said in early November. “In my view, this means that the issue of the German pact on migration is over.”
Attack in the middle of the Eastern election campaign
An understanding between the parties of the democratic centre, which are increasingly being undermined by the fringes, seems more urgent now than ever. Elections will be held in Thuringia and Saxony on Sunday. In the latest polls, the AfD and BSW together received 47 to 50 percent (Thuringia) and 41 to 47 percent (Saxony). The AfD in particular is trying to exploit the knife attack for election campaign purposes.
It remains to be seen whether the recently particularly quarrelsome traffic light coalition and the Union will succeed in countering this with a clear signal of their ability to act by Sunday. Regarding the Chancellor’s meeting with Merz, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said very cautiously on Monday that possible agreements would have to be “reasonable and effective”. “Of course, it must always be about proposals that do not violate the Basic Law or the UN Human Rights Charter or anything similar.” There were already clear doubts that measures such as a freeze on the admission of Syrians and Afghans are even legally possible.
Mayor: “It’s not just about Solingen”
But expectations of politics are high. Solingen’s mayor Kurzbach made this very clear on Monday after his meeting with Scholz. “People now expect this state to act and be active and to find solutions for them.” Those responsible for government must now stand together – at federal, state and local level. “We are far from over the horror of the events here,” he says. “Let us calm down in Solingen. It’s not just about Solingen, it’s about our country.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
