"Despite the state": Merz and Söder rage about New Year's rioters from "chaos city" Berlin
Created: 05/01/2023 09:50
By: Christian Deutschländer
Police officers stand behind exploding fireworks on New Year's Eve in Berlin.
© Julius Christian Schreiner/dpa
After the attacks on New Year's Eve, the incumbent Senate in Berlin is coming under increasing pressure.
Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder also join the debate.
Berlin/Munich – Franziska Giffey, SPD, somehow imagined the new year differently.
On the morning of January 2, the mayor of Berlin wanted to present her election campaign, her posters, her topics, her plans.
Instead, at the beginning of the year, the whole country is talking about breakdowns, failure and violence in Berlin.
New Year's Eve hits the capital's election campaign with great explosive force.
New Year's Eve riot in Berlin: Governing Mayor Giffey calls for a nationwide debate
Part of the debate after the nightly attacks affects Berlin state politics, i.e. the red-red-green government under Giffey's leadership - the police is a state matter.
Does the anger of citizens who feel inadequately protected shift the balance of power?
Elections will be held in the city on February 12, postal voting will begin shortly - and every half a dot can decide who has power in the metropolis.
In the most recent polls, Giffey's SPD, the Greens and the CDU are tied at around 20 percent.
A blink of an eye can then decide who the governing mayor is, or just a few firecrackers.
Giffey tries to emphasize the federal political component.
She calls for a nationwide debate about "how to deal with firecrackers".
The SPD calls for tougher penalties;
also a federal matter.
Resourceful minds in the Berlin government interject that the Bundesrat should now deal with the "Explosives Act".
The co-governing left also points to federal regulations.
CDU leader Merz attacks Berlin Senate: limits "rights and possible uses of the police"
The Union enters the debate with force on Tuesday.
Both party leaders of the CDU and CSU, Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder, accuse
the Berlin Senate of serious omissions in an interview with the
Münchner Merkur .
“The chaos, many of them with a 'migrant background', challenge the state they despise with their rampage.
And the state of Berlin cannot cope with the situation because the Senate has been limiting the rights and deployment options of the police for years for political reasons," says Merz.
"As long as this behavior by the Berlin Senate persists, we shouldn't be surprised if these serious crimes are committed against rescue workers and police officers twice a year - on May 1st and on New Year's Eve."
CDU chairman Friedrich Merz (l) and CSU chairman Markus Söder at the CSU party conference in Augsburg (archive picture).
© Frank Hoermann/imago-images
Söder on New Year's Eve riots: Berlin is developing "into a chaos city"
Söder scoffs that one is "horrified on the one hand - and on the other hand almost outraged by such pictures" from the capital.
Berlin is developing "unfortunately into a city of chaos - starting with politics, which can neither organize elections nor guarantee the safety of its citizens".
The CSU chairman accuses Giffey's government that the Berlin police are underfunded and are being let down by the red-red-green majority.
“There is no political backing for the security forces in Berlin.
It's completely different in Bavaria." It's about not letting "legal vacuums arise".
Söder also calls for "tougher penalties for attacks on security forces, including insults".
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However, it is unclear whether there will be a critical review and proposals at the state level in the near future: at the beginning of the year, the chair of the conference of interior ministers will change according to rotation.
From Bavaria to Berlin.
Meanwhile, the police are publishing more information about the suspects - and their nationalities.
(CD)