Gavin Mortimer
Germany’s decision to reintroduce border controls in an attempt to halt mass immigration is awkward for Keir Starmer.
A fortnight ago the British Prime Minister, a friend of European free movement, visited Berlin and among the issues he discussed with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were trade, defence and immigration.
A few days before Starmer’s visit, three people were killed at a diversity festival by a suspected Syrian refugee. Germany’s decision to tighten its borders (initially for six months but this could be extended) is partly a reaction to that atrocity as well as the failed attack last week on the Israeli consulate in Munich.
It is also a response by Scholz to the victory last week of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Thuringia’s state election.
That success was the latest triumph in Europe for parties variously described as populist, far-right or nationalist. Take your pick.
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