How can politicians protect themselves?

2024-05-06 08:36:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Illustrative photo

Protests were also held in Berlin and Dresden on Sunday evening after the brutal attack on an SPD politician in Dresden. The Ministers of the Interior of the federal states must draw up urgent measures for the protection of politicians. The Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, has requested that a special conference be held next week. Faeser has requested an urgent conference.

"The constitutional state must and will respond to these acts with tough actions and further protective measures for the democratic forces in our country," she said. The latest attack was "a new dimension of anti-democratic violence."

The SPD's main candidate for the European elections, Matthias Ecke, was beaten on Friday evening in Dresden by four unknown persons while putting up pre-election posters in Dresden. The 41-year-old MEP is in the hospital and needs surgery. According to the police, it is suspected that the same group also attacked and injured an activist of the Green Party campaign. According to witnesses, they were wearing dark clothes, a police spokesman said. A witness was of the opinion that the attackers belong to the right-wing political spectrum. The investigation will show if this is true. According to the Ministry of the Interior in Saxony, the Criminal Police Office is investigating these cases.

Hostility to politicians

The attack sparked nationwide outrage. "This outbreak of violence is a warning," President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Saturday. He called on everyone to conduct political debate peacefully and respectfully and called on supporters of liberal democracy to stand together across lines. party against the attacks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said that democracy is threatened by something like this, "and that is why such an option should never be accepted".

Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) explained: "They are the disgusting and unforgivable result of a brutalization of language, debate and unrest on so-called social media." Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) warned that "not curbing the political debate affects us all". Anyone could be next. "That is why we are all called to oppose the escalation."

The incidents in Dresden are part of a series of nationwide attacks on party members ahead of local and European elections on June 9. Just Thursday evening in Essen, after a Green Party event, Bundestag member Kai Gehring and his party colleague Rolf Fliß said they were attacked. Fliß was beaten. Bundestag Vice President Katrin-Göring-Eckardt was verbally attacked in Brandenburg a week ago. There are doubts that these attacks are orchestrated, while the level of violence is completely unacceptable and aims to spread fear. There are also doubts that such acts may be repeated.

According to a response from the federal government, Green Party politicians were particularly affected by the violence. According to preliminary figures, 1219 cases of assault were registered in 2023. This is a significant increase in 2022 there were 575 criminal offenses. AfD politicians were also often physically attacked. Preliminary statistics record 478 cases. The SPD is third in terms of attacks, with 420 criminal offenses against them. Authorities say 10,537 attacks against politicians have been reported from 2019 to 2023. /DW