- Critique on the new security plan – opposition expresses dissatisfaction
During the discussion about the extensive security plan proposed by the black-green coalition administration in the NRW state legislature, the opposition voiced their dissatisfaction with the government's performance and actions. SPD opposition leader Jochen Ott accused the government, stating, "The incident in Solingen wasn't a problem with asylum policies, but an issue with your state government."
Ott pointed out that the individual responsible for the Solingen attack should not have been in the country on the day of the incident. As per the law and justice, he should have been deported to Bulgaria earlier, but the NRW authorities were not capable of doing so.
Ott also stated that there was no efficient deportation system in the state. Before implementing new policies, the existing laws must be executed comprehensively first.
Furthermore, Ott lamented that the opposition was not involved in the early stages of the measures. After around three weeks of the terrorist attack in Solingen, the black-green coalition in NRW agreed on a comprehensive security plan. Minister President Hendrik Wüst presented it in the plenary session. This plan included various measures such as enhancing the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, monitoring potential extremists closely, and improving data exchange between authorities. The state cabinet approved the security plan on Tuesday.
The FDP, led by faction leader Henning Höne, criticized, "The Solingen incident could have been prevented within the existing legal framework." According to Höne, the incident was a failure of the state government's responsibility, and it is not correct to blame a lack of legal options.
Höne also commented on the 'Wüst method' - nice images, no functional core. He mentioned that the duration of asylum procedures has not decreased by a third as Wüst claims, but merely by a fifth, from 24 to 19 months. In Rhineland-Palatinate, it is three and a half months.
The AfD, with criticism, expressed: "If you want a genuine deportation minister, I am ready." AfD member Markus Wagner referred to the "asylum summit cosmetics." Wagner stated that NRW has the most individuals with deportation requirements who are not being deported.
On August 23 in Solingen, a man used a knife to kill three people at a city festival and injured eight more. The individual in question, a 26-year-old Syrian, should have been deported last year, but the deportation process failed. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
The CDU, being part of the opposition in the NRW state legislature, shared the SPD's concerns about the execution of existing laws, specifically in regards to deportation. They agreed with Jochen Ott that there was a lack of an efficient deportation system within the state.
During the subsequent debate, the CDU faction leader echoed Ott's criticism of the 'Wuöst method', arguing that while the length of asylum procedures may have decreased, it was not by the claimed third, but rather a fifth.
