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Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner in the race to become German Chancellor, plans to submit an immigration bill to impose “quasi-permanent” internal controls in the south of the country.

The leader of the Christian Democratic Union, who is predicted to win the General Election on February 23, has promised to ban the entry of asylum seekers. His party plans to put the measures to a vote in Parliament next week, he said on Friday.

The existing EU migration rules are “dysfunctional”, the conservative leader said, adding: “Germany must use its right in the National Law.”

The planned measures were in response to growing public outcry following the killing on Wednesday of a two-year-old and an adult in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg. Berlin’s anger at taking on a more irregular immigration has increased support for the far alternative for Germany (AFD).

The attack in the city 40km south-east of Frankfurt comes a month after a Saudi Arabian doctor plowed through a Christmas market in the Eastern City of Magdeburgkilling six and suffering hundreds. In August, a Syrian national was severely beaten by three people and eight others were injured in the Western City of Solingen. The terror group isis claimed responsibility for the attack in Solingen.

AFD has come under attack to justify its calls Mass Deports of immigrants. The Party is predicted to finish second with about 20 percent of the vote, according to pollsters. On Wednesday, AFD LEGED ALACE WEELD A letter was published urging Merz to cooperate with Parliament on immigration.

Merz tried to draw a line under the time of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who divided 1mn Syrians in 2015, Uwe Jun, a political scientist, said.

“But it’s hard to see how any party can benefit from the current immigration debacle other than the AFD,” Jun said.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose social democratic party is tracking third place in the polls, sought to redirect the basis of the latest attack on Markus Söder, the conservative president of Bavaria. Söder is the leader of the Christian Societ Social Union, the CDU’s sister party in Bavaria, and is campaigning in Merz.

The suspect in Wednesday’s attack, who was arrested, is a 28-year-old Afghan National whose asylum application was rejected in Bulgaria, where he entered the EU. He had known psychiatric problems and told authorities he was voluntarily leaving Germany a month ago, according to Bavarian authorities.

After the Solingen attack, the Scholz coalition was introduced Temporary controls In all its land borders, a move it says is “in line with European law”.

But Scholz has been criticized for failing to address the problem. “Blas-blah chancellor,” Read a translated headline in BILD, Germany’s biggest tabloid, on Friday.

“The blame game is now,” said Henning Meyer, professor of public policy at the University of Tübingen. “People rightly feel that the government is out of control, but this is a systemic administrative problem.”

Meyer added: “The attackers are known and some potential threats have been identified. There is a problem with the flow of information between the authorities.”

Several agencies received warnings about the Magdeburg attack, a refugee who expressed support for the AFD and known psychiatric issues.

Merz’s Party can secure most of the proposals in the parliament on the immigration proposals of the liberals, afd and the party of the left Sahra Wagenknecht and without the support of the SPD and Greens. Both Coalition parties could face a backlash if they decide to delay or reject the measures.

Green MP Konstantin Von Notz warned that the proposals are “consistent with the Constitution or European law. . . Merz followed in the steps of Donald Trump”.

Merz is also at risk of losing support if the attacks continue, Prof Meyer said.

“Merz wants to create quasi border controls, but the danger is that he overpromises and does not deliver and there is another attack,” he said. “Illegal immigrants are not particularly lining the border crossings and Germany has a big green border.”