An Afghan asylum seeker drove a car into a group of pedestrians in Munich, Germany, on Thursday morning, injuring at least 28 people, some seriously. According to authorities, the attack occurred in the morning, and while police have provided limited information, Al Jazeera reported that the perpetrator is a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who was already known to police for drug-related offences and petty theft. Bavaria’s Minister-President Markus Söder described the incident as ‘probably an attack’.
Police also said on X that the driver was secured at the scene and no longer posed any danger. A damaged Mini Cooper could be seen at the scene.
With just ten days remaining before Germany’s early elections, the country has been hit by a series of violent incidents in recent months, committed by migrants or individuals linked to immigration. The latest attack prior to the Munich incident occurred in January, when an Afghan migrant—who had been slated for deportation—killed two people in a knife attack in Aschaffenburg. Before that, in December 2024, a Saudi man drove a van into the Magdeburg Christmas market, killing six and injuring 200 more.
The right-wing anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), currently the second-largest political force in Germany, has long advocated for stricter migration policies, including mass repatriation of those who entered the country illegally. Following the attack, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel posted a series of statements on X, calling for a ‘migration turnaround’ (Migrationswende).
Weidel also shared a video highlighting migration-related terror attacks from the past six months, warning of the consequences of uncontrolled immigration. ‘Millions of people have come to us after discarding their passports. We have no idea who they are,’ the caption read.
Migration has undeniably become the central issue of the election campaign. The frontrunner, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has recently hardened its stance on the matter—despite being the party most responsible for current migration policies, which were implemented under former chancellor Angela Merkel. CDU leader Friedrich Merz expressed condolences to the victims’ families and emphasized in a statement on X that ensuring the security of German citizens remains the party’s top priority.
The Future of Germany
The attack in Munich took place just one day after Weidel was received by a sitting prime minister for the first time in AfD’s history—Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. The Hungarian leader extended the invitation last week after AfD successfully breached the political firewall mainstream parties had maintained against it since its founding in 2013.
During their meeting, Orbán and Weidel discussed Europe’s key challenges, with illegal migration at the top of the agenda. Weidel thanked Hungary for its firm stance against illegal migration and condemned the EU for penalizing Budapest over its policies. She further argued that illegal migration is undermining the Schengen Zone, forcing member states to reinstate border controls within the EU. The AfD’s chancellor candidate stressed that, if elected, her government would withdraw Germany from the European asylum system and reject the European Migration Pact.
After the discussion, Orbán described AfD and Weidel as ‘the future of Germany’ and expressed hope that the country would soon join Hungary in its revolution against Brussels’ migration policies.
According to a Washington-based Democracy Institute poll published two weeks ago, AfD is closing the gap with CDU, standing at 25 per cent, just two percentage points behind the largest party. Weidel is also proving highly popular among the electorate, leading Merz by nine points in the race for the chancellery, with support from 35 per cent of voters. Another poll, conducted by German pollster Forsa and published on 4 February, places AfD at 20 per cent, trailing CDU by eight points.
The Munich attack coincides with the arrival of international leaders, including US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for the three-day Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday.
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