Scholz wants to expel from Germany the man who injured 28 people in the Munich attack

BerlinGermany has been shaken by a possible terrorist attack in central Munich ten days before the Bundestag elections. A group of citizens taking part in a trade union protest in the Bavarian capital were hit by a vehicle driven by a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, according to initial police reports. At least 28 people, including children, were injured. The election campaign, dominated by the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the debate on immigration limits and public safety, has thus taken on a new episode that adds further volatility and tension. German politicians demanded a tough hand with the perpetrator of the attack and promised changes in immigration policy.

The perpetrator, Farhad N., has accelerated in a Mini Cooper towards participants in a trade union protest Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft(Verdi), the second most important in the country. The driver was arrested shortly after the incident. Farhad, born in 2001 in Kabul (Afghanistan), arrived in Germany in 2016. The suspect had a criminal record related to drug trafficking and petty theft, but was not suspected of radicalisation until now. Although the police are still assessing the motivations behind the incident, they do not rule out extremist motives.

"Enough already!"

In fact, the president of the Bavarian state, the conservative Markus Söder, pointed out to the media that "it is presumably an attack." And he recalled that the "modus operandi" is similar to that of others Deliberate attacks that have recently taken place in the country. Söder said it was "terrible to have to hear the news again that someone has driven a car into a crowd." "We cannot just go from one attack to another and show our dismay, but we also have to really change something. Enough is enough!" added the regional leader. In January, another Afghan citizen He killed a child and an adult with a knife The attack took place on the eve of the start of the Munich Security Conference, which will be attended by heads of state and governments from around the world, representatives of the armed forces, politicians and members of the business world and civil society from Friday. Among others, the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Secretary of NATO, Mark Rutte, and the leaders of the European Union will be attending.

"This criminal cannot count on any kind of leniency. He must be punished and must leave the country," said the German Chancellor, the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, at an election event in Fürth. The Social Democrats, who have led the three-party coalition for the past four years, are at a significant disadvantage in the elections. The public perception is that the government has not done its homework on migration.

"The security of the German people will be our top priority. We will systematically enforce law and order," the conservative CDU-CSU candidate Friedrich Merz promised on the social network X.

"Everyone must feel safe again in our country. Something must change in Germany," promised Alice Weidel, a candidate for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD). "We need a change in migration policy and we need it now," the far-right candidate added on social media. Alternative for Germany (AfD), second in the polls behind the conservatives, promises in its election programme to close the borders and carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and foreign criminals.

If the attack is confirmed to be a terrorist act, it could boost the far-right's chances even further. One of the most recent polls suggests 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 even though Merz is the favourite, he is unlikely to 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.