German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a shift in mentality among government agencies regarding migration and deportation following the recent knife attack in Aschaffenburg. “A mental shift must take place in all authorities, regardless of whether at the federal, state, or local level”he told the Bild newspaper.
Scholz emphasized the need for authorities to “boldly act and apply the stricter laws in the fight against irregular migration.”He also urged the states to build more detention centers and Dublin centers to facilitate faster deportations.
In the event of a second term, Scholz plans to continue the border controls he initiated: “The border controls I ordered as Chancellor at all German borders must be maintained.”Scholz is seeking the trust of voters by highlighting the accomplishments of his government in the fight against irregular migration, claiming that his administration has done more in the past four years than the governments of the past 16 years combined.
The Green Party’s candidate for Chancellor, Robert Habeck, has promised to implement a three-point plan. “All asylum procedures will be drastically accelerated”he told the Bild newspaper. “No Dublin decision will take longer than a month. To make that happen, I will personally ensure it, just as I successfully did with energy policy. I will strengthen the security authorities, so that dangerous individuals are monitored and foreign threats are deported. I will make migration agreements my top priority, so that other countries take back people without a right to protection.”Habeck emphasized that he has a track record of not giving up until problems are solved, citing his experience as a minister.
The CDU’s candidate for Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is trying to convince voters of his credibility by pointing out that he achieved a policy shift in the CDU on the issue of migration. “Citizens can take me at my word”he said.
The AfD’s candidate for Chancellor, Alice Weidel, has announced that if she were to take office, her first step would be to secure Germany’s borders by implementing comprehensive controls against illegal border crossings. She also plans to withdraw from the EU’s asylum system and the UN’s refugee pact.