Three days after the knife attack that took place on the night of Friday 23 to Saturday 24 August, which cost the lives of three people at a festival in Solingen, in western Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to tighten immigration and tighten gun regulations. Less than a week before the highly anticipated elections in the east of the country, which are expected to see a strong rise of the far right, he visited the city where the tragedy took place, located between Düsseldorf and Cologne, on Monday 26 August, accompanied by local elected officials.
“This is terrorism, terrorism against all of us”, Mr Scholz told reporters, calling it an attack on the Western way of life. “I am angry”he added, keeping his usual impassive face. At a festival celebrating the 650the anniversary of the city of Solingen on Friday evening, three people were killed and eight others injured. The suspect, identified as Issa Al H., is a Syrian refugee who arrived in Germany in late 2022 and was subject to a deportation order. Suspected of links to the Islamic State organization, he surrendered to the police on Saturday and was arrested.
“We must do everything to ensure that those who cannot and must not remain in Germany are expelled.”the chancellor promised, saying that deportations had increased by 30% by 2024, and by two thirds since 2021. “We will be very attentive to how we can grow these numbers further.”he continued, explaining that controls on Germany's eastern border had, at the same time, helped reduce the number of illegal migrants. According to federal police data cited by Agence France-Presse, the country expelled 21,206 people in 2023, while it had planned to expel nearly 53,000.
“Announcements alone will not be enough”
The attack brings security issues back to the forefront, just days before regional elections that are expected to be very unfavourable for the parties in the ruling coalition – in Thuringia and Saxony on 1er September, then in Brandenburg on September 22. Above all, it comes less than three months after the death of a police officer stabbed by an Afghan refugee in Mannheim (southwest) at the end of May, which had caused great emotion, just before the European elections. Olaf Scholz had already promised expulsion measures against the “criminals”, including those from Syria and Afghanistan.
You have 49.62% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
Source: Lemonde
