The number of criminal and violent crimes against politicians in Bavaria remained at a consistently high level last year – tens of times higher than in the pre-Corona period. A total of 1,013 crimes against political officials and elected officials were counted in the Free State in 2023. That was a similar number to the year before (1081). This emerges from the Interior Ministry’s response to a request from the state parliament’s Greens, which the German Press Agency has received.
The number was significantly higher at 1,575 crimes in 2021 – the year was marked by protests against the anti-corona policy. For comparison: In 2019, only 245 crimes were counted against political officials and elected officials. In a comparison, however, the Interior Ministry also points out that affected politicians are now reporting crimes more regularly. There has also been an online reporting procedure for officials and elected officials since September 2020.
According to the Greens, who evaluated the ministry’s extensive data, a little more than half of the crimes registered in 2023 involved threats, slander, insults, coercion or sedition offenses that were carried out by email or via social media. In addition, around 700 cases of damage to campaign materials were reported in the 2023 state election campaign alone.
The Greens were the main victims, with 263 crimes reported. According to the data, 55 acts of violence against politicians were recorded in 2023 (after 122 acts of violence in 2022 and 75 acts of violence in 2021) – with a majority of violent crimes being extortion crimes that fall into this category. A total of 62 victims of these violent acts were registered in 2023 – and 50 perpetrators were identified.
In 2023, eight politicians became victims of assault offenses – some of which were attempted. This count also includes the throwing of a stone by a suspected “Reich citizen” onto the stage of a Green Party campaign rally in September 2023 in Neu-Ulm. Currently, before the European elections, attacks on politicians are increasing across the country. In Dresden, the SPD politician Matthias Ecke was recently beaten up by young men. And in Berlin, the former mayor Franziska Giffey was the victim of an attack.
As a consequence, the state parliament Greens are calling for better protection for politicians and a Bavaria-wide contact and advice center for local officials and elected officials. This should advise those affected and help improve communication between security authorities, the judiciary and administration. The contact point should be designed and implemented in close cooperation with the municipal associations. The Greens are also calling for the existing online reporting procedures to be made even better known – and ultimately for the introduction of a virtual police station to make reporting even easier. “It cannot be the case that people who are politically active in Bavaria, who often work on a voluntary basis, have to be afraid. But that is exactly the reality,” complained Green Party parliamentary group leader Katharina Schulze. Crimes against officials and elected officials are not just attacks against a party – “they are attacks against our democracy.”
Cemal Bozoglu, spokesman for strategies against right-wing extremism, warned: “We now have to speak of a level that threatens democracy when we look at the persistently high number of attacks on politicians in Bavaria.” Schulze called for a return to fair debates across party lines.