BERLIN — An attack on a trade union demonstration on Thursday by an Afghan asylum seeker is rocking the campaign race for Germany’s election on Feb. 23 that has already been shaped by fierce debates over migration.
The 24-year-old, who injured at least 28 people — some of them critically — when he plowed his white mini into the crowd, was already known to the police and was detained at the scene. Authorities have not yet determined his motive, but the case is being investigated by Bavaria’s counterterrorism unit.
Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor from the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), posted on X: “We will consistently enforce law and order. Everyone must feel safe in our country again. Something has to change in Germany.”
Bavarian Premier Markus Söder, from the Christian Social Union, a sister party to the CDU, described the incident as a likely “terrorist attack” and called for tougher measures, warning that Germany “cannot keep moving from one attack to another without action.”
The incident in Munich follows a series of attacks by foreign citizens residing in Germany. In January, a 28-year-old Afghan man attacked a school group, killing a two-year-old child and a man in the southern city of Aschaffenburg. In December, a Saudi Arabian citizen drove a truck into a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg, killing five and injuring 200.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) quickly blamed lax migration policies, pointing to the suspect’s nationality. The party’s leader, Alice Weidel, posted on X: “Is this supposed to go on forever? Migration turnaround now!”
Seeking not to be outflanked, Chancellor Olaf Scholz from the Social Democratic Party said at a campaign event in Fürth in northern Bavaria: “He cannot hope for any kind of leniency … He must be punished, and he must leave the country.”
The AfD official account on X accused the government of failing to deport dangerous asylum seekers, referencing the Aschaffenburg stabbings.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck, the chancellor candidate from the Greens, struck a different tone, expressing shock at the attack but urging restraint until a full investigation is completed. “It is crucial that we quickly clarify the background of this horrific act,” he wrote on X.
The attack comes just days before the high-profile Munich Security Conference, where dozens of world leaders and top diplomats, including Scholz and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, are set to gather. While authorities say there is no indication the incident was linked to the event, security measures are under review.
This story is being updated.
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