Germany rejects calls for U-turn on migration policy following deadly knife attack

The German government has pledged to increase deportations but remains resolute in its refusal to fundamentally change its migration policy in the wake of mounting pressure from opposition groups after a deadly knife attack by a Syrian refugee.
On Friday (23 August), a Syrian migrant killed three people and injured eight others in a fatal knife attack, described by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD/S&D) as “terrorism against all of us.”
In response to the event, and just a week before crucial state elections, conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU/EPP) called upon the government to implement a list of measures to curb immigration to Germany, something Scholz has resisted until now.
A suggestion by Merz to stop the admission of Syrian and Afghan migrants “would violate the constitution and probably also EU human rights regulations,” a government spokesperson stated on Monday (26 August).
Instead of announcing a revamp of Germany’s migration policy, Scholz reminded the audience that the government had just implemented a stricter deportation policy, resulting in 30% more deportations within one year. He will now look to increase these numbers “if necessary, with [further] legal regulations.”
Scholz plans to “further advance” the Dublin regulation at the European level, vowing to work with other EU states as “some things will have to be changed under European law.”
The 26-year-old assailant, now under custody, was scheduled to be transferred to Bulgaria for a ruling on his asylum request in the EU state in which he first registered last year.
However, German authorities could not find him on his deportation date. Now, a blam -game between is emerging between different local and federal authorities in Germany on who is responsible for giving the Syrian, who ISIS claimed to be a “soldier of the Islamic State”, the opportunity to stay in the country.
In addition, the chancellor announced that the government would further toughen laws relating to weapons – an issue that had previously caused disagreement between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice.
An issue that Merz previously dismissed. “It’s not the knives that are the problem, but the people who walk around with them,” he wrote in his weekly newsletter on Sunday.
According to information available to Der Spiegel, Schulz and Merz will meet on Tuesday morning to discuss migration, among other topics.
Election Pressure
The government coalition is currently under pressure, as two state elections in the eastern part of the country are scheduled for Sunday (1 September) and are expected to be a test for the three-party coalition of Social Democrats (SPD/S&D), Greens, and Liberals (FDP/Renew).
According to polls, the three parties are considering the possibility of receiving historically low support, while the opposition parties are expected to be the big winners.
In Thuringia and Saxony, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD/ESN) is slightly ahead of the conservative CDU, while the far-right is way ahead of the second-polling SPD in Brandenburg, which will head to the polls on 22 September.
In Thuringia, all three coalition parties struggle to reach the five per cent threshold required to make it into parliament.
According to the polls, immigration is considered to be the most important issue in Saxony currently, with the CDU and AfD most trusted to solve this. In Thuringia, however, the issue takes second place, with voters believing the far right is most effective.

German opposition urges to reverse migrant policy following deadly stabbing
In the wake of a deadly knife attack in Germany, the main opposition party is urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to abandon the government’s immigration policy and work together to implement a series of tough measures to curb the influx of migrants.
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