German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU leaders on Saturday denounced a recent spate of attacks on politicians in Germany, including one that sent a member of the European Parliament to hospital with serious injuries.
Matthias Ecke, 41, a member of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, was hit and kicked on Friday by a group of four people while putting up posters in Dresden, the capital of the eastern state of Saxony, police said.
A party source said his injuries would require an operation.
Photo: AFP
Shortly before, what appeared to be the same group attacked a 28-year-old campaigner for the Greens, who was also putting up posters, police said, although his injuries were not as severe.
“Democracy is threatened by this kind of thing,” Scholz told a convention of European socialists in Berlin.
The attacks exemplify increased violence in Germany in the past few years, often from the far-right, targeting especially leftist politicians. The German intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, domestic intelligence agency says far-right extremism is the biggest threat to German democracy.
Saxony Minister President Michael Kretschmer said such aggression and attempts at intimidation recalled the darkest era of German history, a reference to Nazi rule.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a former German minister, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola both condemned the attack on Ecke.
“The culprits must be brought to account,” Von der Leyen wrote on X.
German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser vowed “tough action and further protective measures” in response to the attacks.
The heads of the Social Democratic Party in Saxony, Henning Homann and Kathrin Michel, issued a statement in which they blamed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for the rise in violence.
“These people and their supporters bear responsibility for what is happening in this country,” they said.
The AfD did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The party says it is the victim of a campaign by the media and political establishment.
The AfD has seen a surge in support in the past year take it to second place in opinion polls nationwide. It is particularly strong in the eastern states of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg, where surveys suggest it could come first in regional elections in September.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across