German opposition leader: Scholz is no longer able to control the situation in the country

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz has accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of no longer being able to control the situation in the country.

Merz who heads the Christian Democratic Party, the largest opposition party in Germany, is also the head of the parliamentary bloc of the Christian Union, which includes his Christian Democratic Party and the Bavarian Christian Social Party.

Following a meeting with Scholz at the Chancellery in Berlin, Merz said on Tuesday, “the country is currently slipping out of the Chancellor’s hands”.

Scholz and Merz discussed for nearly an hour the consequences of the deadly stabbing attack in the city of Solingen.

The opposition leader offered the chancellor cooperation in working on reforms to the asylum law, and to pass them even without Scholz’s Social Democrat coalition partners, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party.

Merz criticized the inability of the political center to find common solutions, describing this situation as tragic, noting that his proposal for cooperation stems from his feeling of extreme concern for the country, and said that citizens are right to expect that politicians, especially Scholz and Merz, will solve the problems rather than just describe them.

Scholz, in turn, stressed his openness to working with Merz on the immigration issue.

Scholz said during an election campaign that it was right for Merz to offer cooperation in reducing irregular immigration.

The German chancellor said it was always advisable for the government and the opposition to work together, adding, “We’ll certainly do our utmost to ensure that we can adopt more good rules together in Germany”.

Scholz added that it was also important to do so in line with important principles of democracy and in line with commitment to international treaties.

Scholz added: “Our international agreements are valid… EU rules are valid… what our constitution dictates is binding… and therefore many practical suggestions are welcome”.

In the attack in Solingen, an assailant killed three people with a knife at the city’s festival on Friday and injured eight others. The suspect, a 26-year-old Syrian, is now in custody and being investigated by German federal prosecutors on charges including murder and suspected membership of the Islamic State (IS) group, which later claimed responsibility for the attack.