Violence
Almost 2,800 cases last year: Attacks on politicians mainly affect two parties
Protection for an election campaign event of the Alternative for Germany in Schwäbisch Gmünd 2021 – after the attack on SPD politician Matthias Ecke, the topic of violence in political debate is coming back into focus
© Marius Bulling / Ostalb Network / Picture Alliance
The attack on SPD man Matthias Ecke is the sad climax of a long-lasting development: the number of attacks on politicians in Germany runs into the thousands every year.
The brutal attacks on several politicians and not least on the SPD European election candidate Matthias Ecke in Dresden (the star reported) are causing horror nationwide – and yet they are not isolated cases. Current figures show that those who work for our society repeatedly fall victim to such attacks.
Matthias Ecke is not an isolated case
Most of the time it doesn’t affect the prominent faces in federal politics; they are usually well protected. It often affects the people who do politics locally and want to make a difference. And the perpetrators can strike at any time: after local council meetings, at campaign stands or while putting up posters. In the past five years, the German security authorities have registered around 10,500 violent attacks on politicians – an average of almost six cases every day! In addition, there were almost 2,500 arson attacks on or other damage to buildings belonging to the parties represented in the Bundestag.
These figures come from a response from the federal government to a request from the AfD parliamentary group. The partly right-wing extremist party and its representatives, along with the Greens, are particularly affected by attacks.
Particularly alarming: physical violence was used against party representatives almost 1,200 times in the past five years. And: Despite a decrease in the number of attacks in 2022, the trend is clearly pointing upwards.
According to “Tagesspiegel”, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) now wants to quickly convene a special conference of interior ministers to discuss the consequences of the recent attacks and possible protective measures.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was also horrified after the acts. “This outbreak of violence is a warning: everyone who wants to preserve our liberal democracy must now stand together across all parties against attacks and abuses in political competition,” said the head of state. “I appeal to everyone to conduct the political debate peacefully, with arguments and respect. Let us not allow radicals to use brutality to destroy what defines democracies in election campaigns: the peaceful, fear-free formation of political will.”
Source: The federal government’s response to a small question from the AfD parliamentary group, “Tagesspiegel”, Office of the Federal PresidentDPA news agency