Reaction to Seehofer's attack: Salzburg threatens border controls with driving bans

The reaction from Austria was not long in coming: Because Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) ordered stricter border controls, threatened the state of Salzburg now with driving restrictions on rural roads and the blocking of motorway exits, the checks should lead to longer traffic jams.

"If we realize that the controls lead to more congestion and avoidance traffic, then we will respond in any case." We are prepared, "said the responsible for transport Salzburg Provincial Council Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP) the ORF. One will now begin with appropriate preparations and observe the development closely, said a spokesman Schnölls on Wednesday the German Press Agency.

Seehofer had responded to the illegal re-entry of clan leader Ibrahim Miri and announced stricter border controls. A decree of the Minister of the Interior stipulates that the Federal Police will intensify its control and search measures with immediate effect - above all directly at the borders. It was not until the beginning of October that Seehofer had instructed the federal police to extend the fog detection in the border area.

The province of Salzburg had tried in the summer with driving bans and closed motorway exits to curb the fallback traffic congestion on the highway during the holiday season. The Austrian province of Tyrol had done the same. There, the driving restrictions will apply in winter. There were no major problems due to the driving restrictions for travelers in both states.

Ibrahim Miri, head of the Lebanese Miri clan, reportedly trafficked illegally from Lebanon to Germany using tugs. There, Miri applied for asylum. Only a few weeks before he had been deported from Germany.

Seehofer called the case in the "Bild" newspaper a "litmus test for the defensive democracy". If the rule of law does not prevail, the population loses "confidence in our entire asylum system".