German frontrunner vows permanent border control after knife attack

Merz’s promise to close the border to illegal entry on his first day as chancellor in Berlin has a Trumpian ring.

The US president has been pushing for executive orders and actions to tackle illegal immigration since he re-entered the White House this week.

In Germany, both the centre-left chancellor and Merz are aware that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is consistently second in the polls, has made immigration a signature issue.

AfD leader Alice Weidel has called for a vote in Germany’s parliament next week to close Germany’s borders and turn back irregular migrants. “The Aschaffenburg knife terror must have consequences now,” he said on social media.

Some critics would argue that it is too late for Scholz and Merz to take a more assertive stance now. Others will argue that the shift to the right by the mainstream parties may simply strengthen the AfD’s argument.

In any case, German politics does not lend itself to a presidential style set of one-day rules, if necessary to form a coalition with other parties.

The leader of the liberal Free Democratic Party, Christian Lindner, said that Merz would not be able to introduce such changes if he joined a coalition with the Social Democrats or the Green Party.

Nancy Faeser, who is both interior minister and a colleague of Olaf Scholz, suggested that “some of us now make arguments mostly fact-free in the mode of election campaign”.

“I can only warn clearly against misusing this terrible act for populism, which only benefits right-wing populists with contempt for humanity,” he said.

A 41-year-old man who died in a knife attack on Wednesday has been praised, appearing to have helped a kindergarten group and saved the lives of other children.

Another two-year-old boy from Syria suffered a knife wound on his neck.

A 72-year-old man suffered serious stab wounds and a kindergarten teacher suffered a broken arm.