Merz stands firm against Scholz following the knife attack incident in Solingen
Criticism of migrant policy intensifies following festival attack in Solingen, resulting in three fatalities. CDU leader Merz, in an aggressive stance, slams the traffic light coalition and urges Chancellor Scholz to make a U-turn. To accomplish this, Merz offers his cooperation.
Opposition figurehead Friedrich Merz has respectively criticized the immigration policy of the federal government post the knife assault. His website post title is "Enough!" Merz laments, "The coalition has debated and quarreled for weeks about gun law tightening and knife ban." Following the terrorist incident in Solingen, it's now evident, he asserts, "It's not the knives, but the individuals carrying them that pose the issue." In most instances, these individuals are refugees, and Islamic motivations generally underlie the actions.
Sympathy visits, expressions of concern, and the customary promises of punishment are all appropriate and necessary. Merz, however, warns that after this terrorist act, such actions are no longer sufficient. The CDU chairman has repeatedly proposed joint solutions to the coalition, all of which were rejected. Emphasizing his point, Merz states, "Since this weekend, it's clear: It's enough." He calls upon Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD to act promptly with the Union to prevent more terrorist attacks.
Merz summed up his views post the tragic knife attack in Solingen on Saturday. "The Solingen attack strikes us in our core," he shared on Instagram, describing the violence as "intolerable." Scholz, in response, wrote, "We mourn the deceased. We fear for those still fighting for their lives in hospitals." Such acts must be harshly penalized, and we must never tolerate them in our society.
Deportation of Syrians
The knife attack in Solingen on Friday evening at a festival celebrating its 650th anniversary resulted in three deaths and injured eight others. Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has taken over the investigation due to potential terrorism involvement, confirmed a spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe authority.
The suspected assailant is a 26-year-old Syrian, reportedly residing at a refugee shelter near the crime scene. He willingly surrendered and admitted responsibility for the attack, as per a joint statement from the General Public Prosecutor's Office and the Düsseldorf police. He is currently under provisional arrest. The extent of his involvement in the crime is being intensely examined.
According to RTL/ntv sources, the Syrian suspect was supposed to be deported last year - to Bulgaria, where he initially entered the European Union. However, the deportation was halted because the man disappeared and could not be found at his refugee shelter in Paderborn. He reappeared months later, and the deportation was then put on hold. The Syrian was subsequently transferred to Solingen, they claimed.
The European Council should take a stronger stance on migration policies, given the escalating criticism and the rise in terrorist incidents. Merz, in his call to Chancellor Scholz, suggests that the coalition needs to reconsider its immigration approach in light of the Solingen attack.
