It would be hard to find a leader who has suffered as sharp a reversal in popularity as Germany’s Angela Merkel. Her open door policy towards refugees and migrants in 2015 has resulted in political blowback, which in the wake of the terrorist atrocity in Berlin may well reach the point of no return with a German general election looming in 2017.
At time of writing authorities in Germany are still to apprehend the person or persons responsible for an attack involving an articulated truck being driven at speed through a Christmas market, plowing into men, women, and children in a chilling reminder of the attack which took place in Nice in the south of France back in July, on the evening of the country’s annual Bastille Day celebrations. 84 people were killed on that occasion, while the perpetrator was shot dead by French police at the scene. In Berlin 12 people were killed, including the original driver of the truck that was used, while a further 49 have been injured, some critically.
As with the terrorist atrocity in Nice, credit for its Berlin counterpart has been claimed by Daesh. However this may be a case of opportunism on the part of the Salafi-jihadist terrorist organization. Even so, it does not take a genius to discern an Islamist motive behind Berlin despite the fact that those responsible have yet to be apprehended.
Soon after the attack, German police arrested a 24-year old Pakistani asylum seeker, only to later release him, citing lack of evidence; this…