Crimes against politicians have increased in Germany over the past year, highlighted by recent acts of violence against several prominent politicians on campaign trail.
Germany has recently been rocked by a series of physical attacks on local and prominent politicians, and Federal Interior Minister Nancy Feser (SPD/S&D) has now confirmed that these are not isolated incidents.
According to an article by Feiser in Saturday’s Wert am Sonntag, some 3,691 crimes against public servants, elected officials and party representatives were registered last year, 80 of which were violent. That’s what it means.
“Affected people have been threatened, their offices attacked, their homes besieged, and their private property damaged or destroyed,” the minister wrote.
In comparison, 1,994 crimes were listed in 2022, including 67 violent crimes.
Fazer warned that “disdain for politics and aggression” was currently escalating in the country, and said the spiral must be stopped.
The issue has become more prominent in recent weeks as Germany has seen a number of attacks on EU and regional campaigners, escalating with violence against MEP Matthias Ecke (SPD). A few days later, Franziska Giffy (SPD), a former mayor of Berlin and now a member of the Berlin Senate for Economic Affairs, was attacked and left with minor injuries, adding to similar attacks on politicians in recent weeks.
“I experienced a kind of free culture,” Giffey said in a recent interview. According to the motto: “Politicians are not ordinary people, we can do it with them.”
Following the hospital attack on Ecke, Germany’s regional interior ministers met to discuss appropriate measures.
In addition to the idea of introducing tougher legal measures against attacks on elected officials, Feser’s main focus will now be on more consistent prosecutions. In her opinion, preventing such incidents requires not only increased police presence but also an efficient judicial system.
“It would be devastating if those who are being threatened have the impression that criminal charges are futile and will not be pursued,” Feiser concluded.
Statistics on politically motivated crimes for 2023 will be officially released by Faser on Tuesday.
(Kjeld Neubert | Euractiv.de)
