Germany has been plunged into heavy mourning after the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market on Friday, with five dead and more than 200 injured. The revelations about the highly complex profile of the attacker are shocking.

At the same time, the numerous allegations against him for more than ten years in Germany in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2023, Saudi Arabia’s constant outcries to the German authorities and his official designation as “non-threat” by the Federal Criminal Police Office raise legitimate questions about possible responsibilities of the authorities and put new pressure on the government in the midst of an election campaign.

Questions about omissions and security lapses

Why did the German authorities, and on the basis of what criteria, conclude in 2023 that the Magdeburg attacker, a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist, was deemed not dangerous? How was he granted refugee status in 2016, when he had a prior conviction and sentence in 2013?

Also why did Germany not respond to Saudi Arabia’s constant requests for his extradition? How did his posts with clear extremist content in plain view on social media slip under the radar of the authorities and when members of the Saudi exile and expatriate community had informed the authorities? Why did German authorities in different cities and federal states not cooperate or exchange information adequately over the years?

At the same time, questions are also being raised about the security gaps in Magdeburg and Christmas markets in Germany more broadly. Were the measures sufficient? How did the perpetrator easily manage to enter undisturbed through the emergency entrance? Had a prior assessment of the potential risks been made, given that the intelligence services had warned of an “abstract risk” of attacks?

Political turmoil in Berlin

This year’s festive season in Germany is taking a different turn and will be anything but festive for the political leadership and representatives of all parties in the run-up to the February 23 elections.

On December 30, the German parliament’s internal affairs committee will meet in an extraordinary session, where a hearing of those in charge of the country’s secret services will be held. At the same time, German Lt. Nancy Feser calls for an immediate revision of the law governing the activities of the Federal Police and for the introduction of a new legislative framework to strengthen public security in Germany, for example by introducing, among other things, biometric face and voice recognition checks, something she says was supported by the Social Democrats and blocked by the Liberals in the dissolved government of Olaf Scholz.

At the same time, Friedrich Murch’s Christian Democrats, leading in the polls, are again calling for a tougher immigration and asylum policy and deportations at German borders. The fact that the Saudi attacker had been granted refugee status in 2016 is something that the Christian Union parties are putting at the center of the public debate.

And not just the Christian Union parties. The Alternative for Germany is already shifting the election agenda from Germany’s poor economic situation, which until recently was the dominant issue, to the issue of immigration and asylum.

A major AfD campaign event is expected on Monday afternoon with a speech by party co-chairwoman and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel in Magdeburg. It should be noted that in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where Magdeburg is located, the AfD’s share of the vote is over 30%.