Two new attacks in Germany raise concerns about violence against politicians. international

Far from calming down, attacks against politicians continue in Germany. Social Democrat Franziska Giffi, the former mayor of Berlin and now responsible for the economy in the city government, was slightly injured after the attack on Tuesday afternoon in the Rudo neighborhood in the south of the German capital. Giphy, 46, was suddenly attacked from behind by a man with a hard bag of material and hit on the head and neck in the library at around 4.15pm. The suspect then fled, according to the public prosecutor’s office and Berlin police. The politician had to go to the hospital to receive outpatient treatment for his head and neck pain.

Subsequently, the Berlin prosecutor’s office reported the arrest of a 74-year-old man, who has already been charged with crimes against state security and incitement to hatred. Likewise, there are indications that he suffers from a mental illness, which is why the Prosecutor’s Office is considering requesting an order of confinement in a psychiatric hospital.

In addition to Giffi, on Tuesday, local Greens politician Yvonne Mosler was also attacked in Dresden, the same city where last Friday Social Democrat Matthias Ecke was brutally attacked and suffered a broken cheekbone and eye bone. Had to be admitted to hospital. Like Ecke, the 47-year-old environmentalist politician was putting up election posters for the European elections when, according to police, she was pushed, insulted and threatened by a man and spat upon by a woman, with the 24-year-old arrested shortly after. A woman was arrested. year and a 34-year-old man as the suspect.

These attacks on politicians and public officials have caused concern in Germany, which has been debating for days what can be done to better protect citizens involved in politics, especially in such a delicate year in which In addition to the 9 European elections, local elections will be held in nine federal states in June, as well as elections in three eastern states (Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia) in September.

Within this framework, the regional interior ministers of the federal states held an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to analyze the situation. The head of the interior, Social Democrat Nancy Feser, announced that they had agreed to promote a review and tightening of the penal code to improve the protection of people working in politics and to streamline these judicial processes. To do this, he must first reach a consensus with the Justice Minister, liberal Marco Buschmann.

Giffey, who was family minister during Angela Merkel’s last grand coalition from 2018 to 2021, was shocked by what happened. “There is a place in Neukölln that is very special to me: the library of the Alt-Rudo neighborhood. During my tenure as Neukölln Councilor for Education and District Mayor, I campaigned for the reconstruction of this library. “I never thought they would attack me there,” she wrote about the attack on the social network

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The Social Democrats also expressed their concern about the increase in attacks against people involved in politics in Germany and who are “increasingly exposed” to attacks. “We live in a free and democratic country in which everyone is free to express their opinions. However, there is a clear limitation. And it is violence against those who have a different opinion, for whatever reason and in whatever way. “Nothing can justify these attacks.”

Berlin Mayor Christian Democrat Kai Wegener also expressed his anger. He declared, “Anyone who attacks politicians is attacking our democracy.” “We will not tolerate this. “We will oppose all forms of violence, hatred and unrest and defend our democracy,” he said.

legislative reform

According to Michael Stubgen, president of the conference of interior ministers of the eastern state of Brandenburg, the current criminal law “no longer adequately reflects the danger to public officials and elected representatives as well as volunteers.” For this reason, he requested the implementation of specific legislative initiatives to expand the German penal code and that crimes against public officials and elected representatives be introduced separately and, where appropriate, considered to be “dangerous to democracy”. were judged more seriously. In short, it’s about stopping potential criminals in the first place.

Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung also criticized on German radio, “We are too lax, too lax.” Deutschlandfunk, “Politicians have almost become habituated to insults and harassment,” he said. In his opinion, the boundaries of what can be said should be redefined because, too often, these types of incidents are considered “normal and unpleasant.” “Discredited as something that can be tolerated, something that has to change.

According to government data, such attacks on politicians have almost doubled in recent years, from 1,420 cases in 2019 to 2,790 cases in 2023. Although these types of attacks are nothing new to the parties, he believes something has changed. “Attacks are increasing; “These are no longer isolated incidents,” a spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) told the newspaper. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, “Volunteer campaign managers now claim that not a single poster team can work a two-hour shift without being insulted or attacked,” he said.

The target of such attacks is usually the Greens Party. While there were 174 attacks on their representatives in 2019, last year the figure rose to 1,219. This number is set to double in the period between 2022 and 2023. For their part, politicians from the ultra Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are in second place with 478 cases in 2023, followed by the Social Democrats with 420 cases. Over the years, parties have held workshops on how their members and local politicians deal with both hate and harassment Online

Like on the road. Many parties have set up telephone numbers for members affected by the attacks. Reported attacks are recorded and reported to the police. But it is clear, as many politicians and experts point out, that this is not enough.

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