Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic candidate for Chancellor of Germany, has called for stricter immigration policies following the tragedy in Magdeburg. Merz’s reaction to the incident involved a call for stronger actions against perpetrators with non-European backgrounds.
In his public statement, Merz said, “We are simply not consistent enough in dealing with the enemies of our democracy. We tolerate too many people in Germany who do not want to integrate.”
Merz insisted that deportations should be possible even without identifying a criminal offense. He pointed out that the attacker in Magdeburg appeared to be an especially aggressive opponent of Islam, noting that political Islam poses a significant risk.
“It is quite clear that in German territory, conflicts are taking place with this perpetrator, who does not fit the profile of previous offenders, something we simply cannot tolerate. We must stop this!” Merz stated.
Merz also lamented an increasing readiness to use violence, including in schools and during football matches. He highlighted the rising number of serious crimes committed by immigrants. “The significantly higher level of foreign crime is publicly documented in detail. Political Islam, in particular, is one of the main motives for crimes committed in Germany,” he claimed.
According to data from the Federal Criminal Police Office, the percentage of foreign suspects in 2023 was 34.4%, excluding violations of immigration law. However, as in the previous year, the percentage of foreigners in the population has also risen.
The Federal Police emphasized that the number of non-German suspects cannot be directly compared with the number of foreigners living in Germany. Crime statistics also include people without residence permits, tourists, passers-by, cross-border travelers, and stationed military forces who are not part of the population and are counted as suspects.
