Of
Mara Gergolet
Several dead and dozens injured in Magdeburg, Germany. Musk's words in favor of the AfD and against Scholz: «He should resign immediately»
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
BERLIN – The images show a black BMW hurtling through the crowd at insane speedhitting people like they were pawns or lifting them off the ground like they were skittles. Dozens remain on the pavement of the old marketwhile the car turns right and whoever is nearby, among the wooden stalls, starts running, realizing in an instant that they are on the site of an attack.
It was 7.04pm on December 20, Christmas Eve in Magdeburg, East Germany. At least two dead, including a child, and around sixty injured. Like in Berlin, almost on the same day eight years ago, always in a street market, with a photocopy action, when Angela Merkel's Germany discovered Islamic terrorism up close for the first time.
The driver didn't make it very far. He walked 400 meters away from the town hall square, then got out of the car, hunted, and knelt on the ground. He is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who has been living in Germany since 2006. He rented the car in the afternoon. In the car, on the passenger seat, a piece of luggage was found: the bomb squad intervened to verify that there was no explosive.
«We are still in the so-called situation of chaos, in which everything is possible» commented the spokesperson of the Magdeburg police, Andreas Rosskopf to the NTV broadcaster, «all the tracks are open».
Was he alone? Did he have accomplices? Are you a member of any known terrorist groups? Too early to answer.
No one, however, this time wanted to stall, hide behind caution or political correctness, pretending that time was needed to understand hypothetical motives. The chancellor took care of it Olaf Scholz to make the announcement: «The news from Magdeburg portends the worst. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families. We stand by them and by the towns and citizens of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the rescuers involved in these difficult hours.” Today he will go there with the Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser.
The blue lights remained on in the “old square” in front of the Rathaus until night. Dozens of rescuers, police and psychologists offered some support. Germany, for these events, has protocols and guardian angels in every city. White tents have been set up next to the stalls to shield the injured and offer shelter to those with minor injuries. As we saw in Solingen a few months ago, as we now know, there are dozens of people who will not be able to forget the events and the shock of this night.
Germany is preparing for one of its worst Christmases. There are two months left until the vote on February 23, and everything in this tragedy can be used to fuel political disagreements and controversies. All the leaders attended. Scholz, the head of the CDU Friedrich Merz (“My thoughts go to the victims and their families. I thank all the intervention forces who are taking care of the injured”), Alice Weidel, the leader of the far right of the AfD: « The pictures from Magdeburg are shocking! In my thoughts I am close to the families of the victims and the injured. When will this madness end?
It made itself heard from America too Elon Musk — which he had expressed a few hours earlier his support for the AfDcalling it “the only one who can save” Germany — and declared: «Scholz should resign immediately». Aside from the fact that Scholz already resigned this week, no one felt the need for his advice.
They will be days of mourning and investigations. Maybe of composure. And probably one of the most delicate electoral campaigns that Germany can remember.
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December 21, 2024
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