Brand's perspective is that mental illness is more at fault in the attack than the influence of radical Islam and that root causes must be analyzed, as well.

CNN: Opinion: Russell Brand: Don't blame Muslims

If the second attack, over visas, has been much more successful, it is in part Mr Fischer's own fault: he failed to see that problems with visa regulations, which he considered a lowly bureaucratic issue, could grow into a full-fledged political scandal endangering his political career.

ECONOMIST: Germany's generation gap