The Munich Prosecutor's Office sees an "Islamist motivation" in the attack that left 36 people injured

BerlinThe suspect arrested for the multiple car-ramming incident in central Munich on Thursday could have had an "Islamist motivation" for his attack, German authorities said on Friday morning. However, the Bavarian capital's public prosecutor, Gabriele Tilmann, added that there was no conclusive evidence that the incident was linked to terrorist organisations such as the so-called "Islamic State". The revelation could have an even greater impact on an election campaign heavily marked by the rise of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the debate on immigration and public safety.

The detainee, a 24-year-old Afghan citizen identified as Farhad N., an asylum seeker and legal resident in the country, blurted out to the police officers who captured him the words "Allahu Akbar"["God is the greatest."] The prosecutor commented: "He has admitted that he deliberately drove against the participants of the demonstration. "I was very cautious at the time of fer judicis precipitats, but from everything we know at this moment, I would dare to talk about an Islamist motivation for the crime."

The investigation has updated the names of victims of the 28 crimes initially to 36. Consequently, 36 crimes of attempted homicide, bodily injuries and personal interference in road traffic are being investigated.

The sospitós will arrive in Germany in 2016 as a sol·licitant for asylum. Ara, however, had a residence permit and did not have a previous criminal complaint. I lived in a tourist apartment in Munich, I had money and I had health insurance and social coverage. The authorities are analyzing the telephone activity and the digital transmission to the social networks. On Instagram, above all, he shared sports publications, but he also had some of a religious nature.

Impact on the electoral campaign

The attack took place on the eve of the start of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, which is being attended by heads of state and government from around the world, representatives of the armed forces, politicians, business and civil society. Among others, the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, and the leaders of the European Union are taking part.

The virtual confirmation of the terrorist nature of the attack could further boost the electoral chances of the far right in the elections on 23 February. Some of the most recent polls suggest that the CDU-CSU could win 29% of the vote, the far right 21%, the Social Democrats 16%, the Greens 13% and the Left 6%. But although Merz is the favourite, he will hardly have enough votes to govern alone. He will have to make a pact, although he has promised the Germans that he will not collaborate with the extreme right.

A statement that was called into question following the controversy that arose in the country after the CDU would count on the votes of Alternative for Germany (AfD) to approve two motions The German parliamentary party's proposal to tighten the entry of immigrants and the reception of refugees, and to try to pass a bill to that effect, ultimately failed after a heated second session, when twelve conservative MPs abstained or voted against. It was the first time since the post-war period that a law was passed in Germany thanks to the support of the far-right, confirming the shift to the right of the most populous country in the European Union. Scholz and other left-wing candidates accused Merz of breaking the cordon sanitaire that has been forged against the far-right since the emergence of the AfD in the German political landscape.