Knife attack in Aschaffenburg: what action is required?
A knife attack on a kindergarten group in Aschaffenburg has left two dead and three seriously injured. The suspect, a 28-year-old Afghan, has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The fact that the man had a history of violence and should have already left the country has triggered a political controversy.
Simplistic explanations don't help
A thorough analysis of the problem is now called for, writes Der Tagesspiegel:
“One approach would be to monitor conspicuous people more closely. ... Another would be to discuss why in all too many cases the authorities fail to remove people who are required to leave the country or - as in this case - a man who allegedly wanted to leave voluntarily. The law enforcement agencies could be better networked. We could also ask how psychiatrists can better assess the risk posed by such conspicuous men. None of this is meant to play down the crimes or absolve the perpetrators of their guilt. But those who give up on the serious search for causes and prefer supposedly simple explanations to a genuine analysis of the problem will not solve the problems.”
Time to bring out the big guns
The political leaders have failed right down the line, Welt newspaper writes angrily:
“There are around 50,000 people in this country who are legally obliged to leave and roughly 800 places in custody pending deportation facilities; that's all we need to know. Tweaking the system here and there is no longer a solution. All those who have to leave Germany, especially if they commit crimes, belong in custody until they are deported. Countries of origin that don't cooperate should be sanctioned, both financially and politically. In view of the series of murders committed in recent years it's high time the big guns were taken out. But this hasn't happened. The politicians who have failed to do so should spare us their words of sympathy after each new murder. ... These atrocities won't stop, because the politicians aren't doing what needs to be done.”
Closing borders contravenes European law
The Süddeutsche Zeitung disagrees with CDU leader Friedrich Merz's call for a "de facto entry ban":
“Germany has 3,876 kilometres of border; trying to monitoring all of it effectively would be illusory. And because Merz's plan is so clearly at odds with Germany's obligations under European law it would not be surprising if the neighbouring countries were even more inclined to leave the Germans to tackle their border problems on their own. If they cancel cooperation, this shouldn't come as a surprise. But above all this still does nothing to improve the living conditions in refugee centres, which cause far too many young men to go astray or fall ill - or both.”
The end of Willkommenskultur
The tone of the German election campaign will now grow even harsher, Der Standard fears:
“After the attack in Magdeburg just before Christmas there were warnings and appeals not to let the German election campaign escalate into a contest to see who can be the loudest and most radical in railing against immigrants. ... But now all that is over and done with. Because the bloody attack in Aschaffenburg is so politically explosive that not even the AfD could have come up with a better scenario. ... The assault has fuelled the already overheated debate about migration policy, in which any kind of reasonable tone now seems a thing of the past. Just like the last remnants of Germany's welcome culture.”