Germany's Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, is using the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg as a springboard to push for biometric surveillance laws.

Faeser’s proposal would expand police powers with new biometric tools — something her government had previously vowed not to do. Why the change of heart? It’s a deflection tactic, shifting blame for the attack from the government’s own failings (e.g., ignoring warnings about the attacker) to a need for more surveillance.

This move also lands right before federal elections in February.