Attacks on politicians increased in Germany before the European Parliament elections / Article

In these elections, good success is predicted for the far-right party “Alternative Germany” (AfD). It is this party that is blamed for fueling the political violence, which reminds many of the darkest pages of German history.

Hit the politician on the head

This week, a man attacked the former head of the capital Berlin, Franziska Giffey. The Social Democrat politician was participating in an event at the public library on Tuesday, when an assailant hit her on the head and neck with a bag from behind. After the incident, Giffey was taken to the hospital, where she was given medical assistance, but later the politician announced that everything is fine with her.

The police arrested the attacker. It was a 74-year-old man who had previously come to the attention of the authorities in connection with hate crimes.

The Berlin prosecutor’s office announced yesterday that the man has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Last Friday in the eastern German city of Dresden, MEP Matthias Eck was beaten by four assailants while he was putting up pre-election posters. The bodily injuries inflicted on the politician were so serious that an operation had to be performed, but his life is not in danger.

The police informed that Eke was attacked by teenagers, one of whom is said to be connected to ultra-right organizations.

An attack on a politician took place in Dresden this week as well. This time, Yvonne Mozler, the candidate of the Green Party in the European Parliament elections, was physically and verbally attacked by two persons. Slogans glorifying Nazism were also heard during the attack. Mozler was the second “green” politician to be attacked in Dresden in the last week.

Scholz condemns attacks on politicians

Both ruling and opposition parties say their members and supporters have faced physical attacks and insults in recent months, and have called on police to step up security at pre-election events.

Politically motivated attacks have been condemned by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Scholz, the leader of the German Social Democrats, emphasized that attacks on politicians are unacceptable in civilized societies.

“Such behavior threatens democracy, so we can’t just shrug our shoulders. We have to stand up against it all together. And we, the decent and reasonable ones, are the majority in our societies and apparently also here in Germany,” Scholz said.

Both German government and opposition parties say their members and supporters have faced physical attacks and insults in recent months. Many of the attacks have taken place in eastern Germany, where Scholz’s government enjoys low popularity.

The federal state of Saxony, whose largest city is Dresden, has recorded at least 112 politically motivated attacks this year, including 30 attacks on elected officials or their representatives.

Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer of the Christian Democratic Union said this week that the attacks on politicians were a wake-up call for the authorities and the public to act to prevent the rise of politically motivated violence.

Right-wing radicals incite violence

Many consider the main scapegoat the far-right AfD party, whose representatives have regularly publicly attacked their political opponents, thus encouraging their supporters to violence. In addition, “AfD” is accused of links with neo-Nazi groups.

Former neo-Nazi Axel Reitz said that “AfD” often uses social networks to address the most dissatisfied part of society, which wants simple answers to complex questions.

“They spread hate, they spread fake news, and they spread what they call fundamental opposition to democracy and the liberal ideas that rule our society. And that’s a huge threat because they’re infecting many, many people who don’t realize that ‘Alternative Germany” does not want to help Germany or make life better, but to destroy democracy and our liberal society,” Reitz told Deutsche Welle.

Reitz believes that radical and undemocratic ideas can be fought by explaining to people that democracy and freedom are better than hatred and violence.