In the aftermath of the machete attack in Aschaffenburg, which left two people dead, the Green party’s chairwoman, Franziska Brantner, is calling for faster asylum procedures and better cooperation between the federal government, states and security authorities.
Speaking to the TV channel Phoenix at the party’s convention in Berlin on Sunday, Brantner said, “That’s why we’re not just demanding clarification, but also the necessary consequences. We need to speed up asylum procedures and improve the implementation. We need to ask whether our security authorities have everything they need to be able to track down and deport potential threats in a timely manner and to improve the information exchange between the security authorities.”
Brantner made it clear, however, that not all borders can be closed indefinitely. “We need to make sure we’re not ruining Europe in the process, but really finding answers that can help prevent such heinous crimes.”
The Green party leader criticized the approach of CDU’s chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz, who plans to submit various bills to the Bundestag before the federal election, aiming to introduce permanent border controls and reject illegal immigrants. Brantner views this as blackmail. “The point is that Mr. Merz said, ‘Either it’s my way or not at all,’ so he’s essentially saying, ‘I’ll blackmail you, either you do it a hundred percent my way or not at all.’ That’s not the approach you take if you really want to achieve something constructive.”
There are many questions to be answered, according to the Green party chairwoman, including whether Merz will stick to his word not to cooperate with the AfD in the future. The Greens want to strengthen the security authorities, enable faster asylum procedures and conclude migration agreements. “There’s a lot to do and that’s our demands. And we won’t let ourselves be blackmailed in this way”Brantner emphasized.
In Germany, there should be more security, but it’s also clear that the country profits from having many people who contribute and drive the country forward, Brantner said.
Furthermore, Germany needs to make massive investments, which the municipalities cannot finance from their regular budgets. The Greens plan to establish a Germany fund, which will be partly financed through loans. The party’s economic minister, Robert Habeck, has also proposed increasing social contributions on capital gains and causing unrest in the process. Brantner commented, “It won’t affect the small saver, the ETF saver, or the one who has saved for their retirement – it won’t affect them.