It’s not about isolated cases. The attacks against two members of the Spd German, a Berlin it’s at Dresdenand to a member of the Verdi they are part of a trend that has seen this type of violent action on the rise for years. According to data from the German Ministry of the Interior, attacks on political figures have already increased by 53% in 2023 compared to 2022. Some examples are the throwing of a stone at Katharina Schulze e Ludwig Harmtann (Greens) during a rally in New Ulm in September by a sympathizer of the Reich citizen. “We are seeing an escalation of anti-democratic violence“, commented the head of the department Nancy Faeser (Spd).
The tones used since the demonstrations of the movement Pegida in 2015, which in Dresden exhibited a gallows with the image of Angela Merkeland then from the polarizing positions of Alternative for Germany that fueled the fears of vaccines they have reduced inhibitions for many assaults. This is a long-standing decay, promoted “initially by the denigration and defamation of politicians on social media and later in the streets”, remarked the Hamburg senator, Andy Grote (Spd). “The AfD is largely responsible for the brutalization of political culture,” said the mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung (SPD), who is also vice-president of the Association of German Municipalities. “AfD politicians have been busy lighting fuses and continue to do so,” she added. The vice president of the German Parliament also paid the price last Saturday, Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Verdi), surrounded and blocked in the car for three quarters of an hour Brandenburg.
However, the situation also seems to have gotten out of hand for the populist party, as revealed by the response to a parliamentary question: the Greens and AfD they are victims in 60% of cases. On 2,790 crimesthe Greens are by far the most targeted: 1,219 attacks in 2023. But in second place is the AfD itself: 478. In third place is the SPD with 420. A large part is against the Greens insults onlinealmost tripled from one year to the next, from 391 to 947, but also constantly increasing in the last five years physical assaultsfrom 23 in 2019 to 62 in 2023. AfD politicians, on the other hand, have been the most physically attacked for five years and there has also been a doubling against them, from 40 in 2022 to 86 attacks in 2023 (Wednesday two more lightly injured a Stuttgart). More than 35 against SPD exponents. Among the government parties i Liberals they are the least affected, with 10 physical attacks in 2023. A violence that does not spare even the CDU/CSU, with 21 politicians involved, the Linke, with 20.
Close to the European elections and the renewal of three Regional parliaments, the increase in aggression puts the democratic process at risk. Many municipal politicians have renounced the mandate following attacks. Among the most recent cases Michael Stolze (independent) e Swabian market (Bavaria). An investigation Rapids are 6,000 honorary auditors relaunched by Mercury found that 40% of them, or people in their circle, had been insulted, threatened or physically attacked. German interior ministers said they agreed on the need for one greater defense of those who are politically committed. Criminal law no longer reflects “sufficiently” – stated the head of the Brandenburg interior Michael Stübgen (CDU) – threats to elected officials and volunteers, particularly for crimes of personal injuries e coercion. The ministers deferred to the Bundestag a resolution with which they support the approach taken last year by Bavaria Of harsher sentences to protect volunteers (also in civil, health and fire rescue) and have endorsed the proposal of Saxony al Federal Council to extend the crime of protection from coercionso far in force only for representatives of federal and regional bodies, also for EU officials and municipal politicians and that a new crime is created that punishes the stalking against municipal politicians regarding threats on social networks or in private life, such as torchlight processions outside the home or chases. The Minister of the Interior of Saxony, Armin Schuster (CDU), while underlining that in view of the elections the initiative had already been launched last year, in light of the latest episodes he hoped “that the rule of law shows its teeth quickly and without compromises“. “An answer – replies the Chancellor from his podcast – that everyone can give is to go and vote. The Governor of Thuringia Bodo Ramelow (Linke) then proposes joint billboards against violence and democracy”.
Also Nancy Faeser (SPD) speaking at Ard declared that “a very clear stop sign is needed for violent criminals” and that he will discuss it with the head of Justice, Marco Buschmann (Fdp), the increase in penalties. However, it has dampened expectations that this will be enough to solve the problem: other measures are also needed in the first place faster judicial procedures so that the attackers grasp the incisiveness of the State. It is also a question of how society as a whole deals with increased violence and hate speech, political debates must be conducted without losing respect for the interlocutor.
Buschmann (Fdp) is also skeptical: “It is right that we think about better methods of protection, more police presence, but we must not believe that we can solve the social problem of the general degradation of political debate with criminal law alone.” The deputy group leader of the FDP in the Bundestag, Konstantin Kuhe, he added that “law and criminal justice cannot be the repair shop for general social degradation”. The Green MP Misbah Kahn finds that the plans only fight the symptoms and that failures to execute must be addressed arrest warrants and Scholz should deal with violence against politicians and volunteers with governors.
While research carried out by Ndr, Wdr e Szand Dresden e Heidenauwhere the four suspects of the attack on the SPD Euro candidate live, Matthias Cornerwould lead to influences from the small far-right group “Elbenlandrevolte“, born just in February but with great success among the very young, for the attack on the senator for Economic Affairs of Berlin, Franziska Giffey (SPD), a seventy-four year old already known to investigators with was arrested mental problems. The Green candidate will also be in Dresden on Tuesday, Yvonne Moslerwas pushed and spat on and the two responsible were identified and investigated also for having been part of a group in which a person did the Nazi salute. But they remained at large.