Following the fatal incident at the Berlin CSD, calls for consequences are beginning to intensify. Alexander Throm, the interior policy spokesperson for the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, demanded the immediate adoption of all security legislation after the summer recess, citing the suspected attack in Berlin. Speaking to the “Tagesspiegel,” he stated that the CDU/CSU and SPD working relationship is now addressing past shortcomings, where data protection was prioritized over citizen security interests. He emphasized that this balance must now be reversed, and all pending security laws must be passed directly following the legislative summer break.
The Union and the SPD had previously agreed on a security package within the coalition agreement. This package includes proposals such as granting authorities more digital investigative powers and implementing IP address storage. Various draft laws are currently in the political pipeline, with some already approved by the cabinet and others having gone through their first reading in the Bundestag.
Throm added, “In recent months, security authorities have prevented several Islamistically motivated attacks. Unfortunately, that did not happen this time. We mourn with the families and the injured, and we hope that all those hurt recover quickly and that there are no further casualties.”
Meanwhile, CDU politician Günter Krings called for harsher penalties for Islamist attackers following the attack on the Berlin CSD. Krings told the “Rheinische Post” (Monday edition) that if the strong indications of an Islamist perpetrator are definitively confirmed, this latest attack highlights the high danger posed by Islamist terror in Germany. He asserted that the attack on the CSD particularly illustrates how much these perpetrators hate the free, Western lifestyle. Krings argued that political Islam does not tolerate peaceful coexistence among diverse cultures but instead promotes the persecution and elimination of minorities.
The CDU politician further stated, “We must therefore use the resources of the rule of law more consistently against them than we have in the past. This is not just about this dramatic case but about our overall duty to better arm ourselves against the plague of Islamist attacks and stop violence. This requires changes toward higher penalties for violent acts, even for people under 21, the stronger application of preventive detention, and more resolute deportation and detention measures, as well as stricter rules regarding naturalization.”
