Aschaffenburg: What politicians are demanding after the knife attack

Bavaria’s Prime Minister and CSU leader Markus Söder has called for a “zero tolerance” policy on migration. He agreed with CDU leader Friedrich Merz that “the basic principle of zero tolerance and zero compromise is the guideline for future migration policy,” said Söder on Thursday in Munich in response to the fatal knife attack in Aschaffenburg.

“Migration is overwhelming our country,” said Söder. This doesn’t just apply from a financial perspective. Germany is a “humane country,” emphasized the CSU leader, with a view to, among other things, accepting war refugees from Ukraine. “But in the end this cannot come at the expense of our own population.” The CSU and the CSU agree on this issue.

“It’s enough, it’s enough, it’s enough,” said Söder. Attacks like those in Mannheim, Magdeburg or now Aschaffenburg are “not coincidences, but the result of a chain of years of wrong migration policy.” It is “overdue for something to change in Germany”. Most immigrants who come to Germany behaved “mostly well” and made a contribution to the country. “But our motto must be: safety first,” said Söder.

The fact that the suspect is an Afghan who is obliged to leave the country became the focus of the debate among politicians from several parties four weeks before the federal election.

CDU boss Friedrich Merz If he is elected Chancellor, he wants to impose a “de facto entry ban” for all people without valid entry documents. Merz said on Thursday in Berlin in response to the knife attack in Aschaffenburg that he would issue a corresponding instruction to the Federal Ministry of the Interior on his first day as Chancellor. Merz presented a five-point catalog on tightening migration policy, on which he said he was not prepared to compromise.

“We need to put the brakes on migration,” said the state group leader and top candidate of the CSU, Alexander Dobrindton Thursday by the Reuters news agency. “That means: rejections at the borders, a third-country solution, consistent deportation of criminals.” He accused the previous traffic light government of breaking its word when it came to announced deportation plans. “All of this contributes to the polarization in our society.”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had already declared after the crime on Wednesday: “Misunderstood tolerance is completely inappropriate” towards perpetrators who came to Germany seeking protection. On Wednesday evening he met specifically with Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) and the heads of the security authorities for a crisis discussion. The Interior Ministry said on Thursday that the conversation between the Chancellor and the minister was confidential.

Green Party candidate for chancellor Robert Habeck pointed out that the alleged perpetrator had psychological problems and had already been violent. “How could he still fall out of sight?” asked Habeck on X. FDP leader Christian Lindner warned that Germany must remain a tolerant country. “But this has to take place according to our rules, not at the expense of our security,” wrote Lindner on X.

The Aschaffenburg CSU member of the Bundestag and domestic politician Andrea Lindholz said on Deutschlandfunk that it had to be clarified why the perpetrator was still in Germany after he was obliged to leave the country.

A toddler and a man were killed in the knife attack on Wednesday. According to police, the Afghan suspect was due to be brought before a judge on Thursday. The appointment at the district court to decide on possible pre-trial detention is scheduled for the afternoon, said a police spokesman.

The child was a two-year-old boy of Moroccan descent who was traveling with a kindergarten group, as Minister Herrmann later said at the scene. The second person killed was a 41-year-old German passer-by who happened to be there and stepped in to help. Other people were injured, some seriously. The 28-year-old suspect went through an asylum procedure and was required to leave the country.