Eight of the 16 interior ministers of Germany’s federal states—those who belong to the centre-right bloc of chancellor Angela Merkel—will issue a “declaration” in Berlin today on toughening security laws. Some of what they want is explosive, including restricting dual citizenship, reversing a change introduced in 2000. And they want to ban the wearing of burqas. Germans are still reeling from terrorist attacks in July, including two by Muslim refugees. And yet many wonder what such proposals have to do with security. Banning dual nationality would mostly affect Germany’s many Turks, in effect placing all of them under suspicion of sympathising with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s dictatorial president (many, but by no means all, do). So what is the real reason for the declaration? In September two states, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, go to the polls—and mainstream conservatives are panicking about right-wing populists stealing their votes.