BERLIN, GERMANY – Candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left party in next month’s European Parliament election, Matthias Ecke, was brutally attacked and seriously injured while putting up posters in Dresden, according to the party’s announcement on Saturday.
The assault on Ecke, which required surgery for his injuries, occurred Friday evening when he was targeted by four men. Remarkably, just minutes earlier, a Greens party worker was also assaulted by the same group in the same street, as reported by the police.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, a member of the Social Democrats, condemned the attack, emphasizing that if proven politically motivated, it would be a severe blow to democracy. She vowed tougher action and enhanced protective measures for democratic forces in Germany.
The incident adds to a string of violent and harassing acts leading up to the European elections, particularly in the eastern part of the country, where Scholz’s government faces significant opposition. The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is expected to gain ground in both the European and state elections.
In response to escalating tensions, mainstream parties have called for increased police protection for politicians and campaign events. They accuse the AfD of fostering a hostile political climate, with alleged ties to neo-Nazi groups. The AfD denies such accusations, condemning all forms of violence in election campaigns.
Despite the intimidation, the Social Democrats in Saxony state, where Ecke is their lead candidate, affirmed their campaign would continue. They blamed the AfD and other right-wing extremists for promoting a climate conducive to such acts of violence.
Meanwhile, police reported another attack on a state lawmaker for the AfD in Norden, near Germany’s North Sea coast, where a man hit the lawmaker and pelted him with eggs during a campaign event.