Displeasure after knife murder

Merz: This is what he would order on his first day as chancellor

German chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz (CDU/CSU) has called for drastic measures following the fatal knife attack in Aschaffenburg.(Bild: AFP)

In Germany, the fatal knife attack by a 28-year-old Afghan in Aschaffenburg has once again triggered a debate on asylum. CDU leader Friedrich Merz wants to impose a "de facto entry ban" on illegal immigrants as potential chancellor - without compromise, regardless of who he governs with. And on the very first day.

Merz called for drastic measures following the fatal knife attack in Aschaffenburg. "If I am elected Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany on my first day in office, I will instruct the Federal Ministry of the Interior, using the Chancellor's authority to issue directives, to permanently control Germany's borders with all of our neighbors and to reject all attempts at illegal entry without exception."

The knife attack on a kindergarten group in Aschaffenburg caused horror beyond Bavaria.(Bild: Copyright NEWS5 GmbH, Krone KREATIV)

Merz like Trump
Merz's statements are reminiscent of the new US President Donald Trump, who declared a state of emergency at the border with Mexico on his first day in office.

Mourning after the knife murder in Aschaffenburg(Bild: AFP)

Because the European rules did not work, he would give priority to national law in the event of an election victory. The CDU chairman said in Berlin on Thursday that refoulement "also expressly applies to people entitled to protection".

Merz: Detain those obliged to leave the country
The German Christian Democrat also called for the mass detention of people who are obliged to leave the country. He also said that the federal government should no longer leave deportation to the states alone. "The federal government must also make all available properties available as quickly as possible, such as empty barracks and other buildings, container buildings on closed properties, in order to significantly increase the number of places in deportation custody."

I will not accept that these attacks in Mannheim, Solingen and Aschaffenburg become the new normal in Germany.

CDU-Chef Friedrich Merz

Chancellor candidate wants to change residence law
It is unacceptable that there are only 750 places available, even though there are 42,000 people "required to leave the country" and a further 180,000 people who are required to leave the country but are tolerated in Germany. Merz did not say how many people he wanted to place in immigration detention. The right of residence must be changed so that every criminal and dangerous person who is required to leave the country can be detained indefinitely.

The German federal police must also be able to issue arrest warrants when they apprehend people who are required to leave the country. Merz justified his demands by saying that he did not want to accept that these attacks in Mannheim, Solingen and Aschaffenburg would become the new normal in Germany.

Unlike Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Merz did not speak of an act of terrorism, but of an attack by a drug-addicted, mentally disturbed man. The 28-year-old man from Afghanistan had killed a child and a man, and several people were seriously injured.

Merz also emphasized that the CDU/CSU would only enter into a coalition with parties that supported these demands. "I don't care who goes down this path politically," he said when asked whether he would rule out a black-green coalition. "I'm just saying: I'm not going any other way. Anyone who wants to go with me must follow these five points. Compromises are no longer possible on these issues."