The MEP Matthias Ecke (SPD) was attacked and seriously injured while posting posters in the Striesen district of Dresden. While putting up election posters for the SPD late on Friday evening, four unknown people beat the 41-year-old, the police said. He received medical treatment in the hospital and is said to need surgery. Ecke is the SPD’s top candidate in Saxony in the European elections in June. The State Criminal Police Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force has now taken over the investigation.
Prime Minister Kretschmer is shocked
The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer spoke of an “attack on democratic values”. The CDU politician wrote on
Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has been Prime Minister of Saxony since the end of 2017 (archive image)Image: Sebastian Kahnert/ZB/dpa/picture alliance
Fair election advertising will be vigorously defended. “We know attacks and intimidation from political competitors from the darkest eras of our history,” explained Kretschmer.
Faeser announces tough action
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said she condemned the serious act of violence in the strongest possible terms. At the same time, she announced tough action by the constitutional state. Faeser said: “If a politically motivated attack on MEP Matthias Ecke is confirmed a few weeks before the European elections, then this serious act of violence is also a serious attack on democracy.
We are experiencing a new dimension of anti-democratic violence here.” She added that extremists and populists who are fomenting an increasing climate of violence with completely unrestricted verbal hostilities against democratic politicians are partly responsible for the fact that attacks are becoming more and more frequent.
“This affects our entire party”
The SPD federal chairmen Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil also strongly condemned the act in Dresden. “This insidious attack affects our entire party. It is an attack on all election campaigners who passionately support our democracy and the rule of law,” it said in a statement. “The perpetrators want to intimidate us as representatives of a democratic society. But they will never succeed.” It is expected that the crime will be solved and the perpetrators will be held accountable.
The two SPD federal chairmen Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil (archive photo)Image: Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance/dpa
Green campaign workers were also attacked
The state party leaders of the SPD in Saxony, Henning Homann and Kathrin Michel, made similar statements. Both added that there had been further attempts at intimidation, destruction of posters and insults from other poster teams. The attack was an “unmistakable alarm signal to all people in this country.” Minutes earlier, according to police, a group of four attacked a 28-year-old Green Party campaign worker while he was also posting posters in Dresden.
The perpetrators hit and kicked him, and the 28-year-old was also injured. Based on the matching personal descriptions and the proximity in time and location, the state security investigators assume that the perpetrators are the same in both cases.
State security investigates after attack in Essen
There had previously been an attack against two Green Party politicians in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Essen, and state security is investigating the incident on Thursday evening. Unknown people initially insulted the third mayor of Essen, Rolf Fliß, and the Bundestag member Kai Gehring, the Essen police said. Fliß was then slightly injured by a blow to the face. Since it could be a politically motivated act, the state security agency is investigating.
haz/jj (dpa, rtr, afp)
Editorial deadline: 3:30 p.m. (CEST). This article will no longer be updated.