Merkel noted that the battle against Islamic State would not take priority over the fight against other crimes such as acts of right-wing extremism, which have risen dramatically since the beginning of 2015.
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Although she did not roll back on her open-door refugee policy, she said the country “must improve the process for repatriation of migrants”. “I don’t know what happened to [Merkel], I don’t know what her thinking was, but I don’t think they are going to recover from it very easily if at all”, Trump said in March.
Mrs Merkel said that “besides organised terrorist attacks, there will be new threats from perpetrators not known to security personnel”.
Merkel has been on holiday in northern Germany since chairing a security meeting on Saturday, leaving Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere – who twice returned from vacation in the last 10 days – to present the government’s response.
“We stand firmly against that”, she said.
Two of the attacks – an ax attack near Wuerzburg that wounded five and a suicide bombing that injured 15 outside a bar in Ansbach – were the first in Germany to be claimed by the Islamic State group. The perpetrators died in both cases after injuring others.
One particular tweet read “who still says “We can make it” after what’s happening in Germany right now, this person can’t be helped”.
The attacks have stoked concerns about an unprecedented immigration flow into Germany, as well as drawing strong criticism for Merkel’s administration for failing to properly address national security issues associated with it.
Europe has at the same time been dealing with the biggest influx of refugees in its history as the Syrian war shows little sign of letting up, and as immigrants from African nations like Eritrea continue to flee oppressive regimes.
She said that while Germany “would give shelter to those who need it”, in light of the recent attacks there was a need for better early warning systems to prevent terror attacks.
“We are talking about a huge litmus test, not just for Germany but for the whole of Europe”.
Amid growing public unease, Dr Merkel insisted she would not allow Islamist attacks undermine German values or, in a nod to domestic critics, force her to alter her asylum strategy.
According to Schwarzer, the tone of the debate in Germany could change if there are more terror attacks and more evidence appears linking refugees to terrorist organisations.
Merkel’s popularity, already eroded by the refugee crisis, is likely to suffer again after a temporary boost following Britain’s vote last month to leave the European Union.
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Munich prosecutors and the Bavarian state criminal police office said in a joint statement Thursday they were still evaluating which parts of the document were fiction and which were based on reality.
