Ecke (41), a member of the European Parliament since 2022, was reportedly attacked in the capital of the state of Saxony by a group of four disguised people. Shortly before, a 28-year-old employee of the Green Party (Grünen) had also been kicked and beaten while he was hanging up posters. He escaped with minor injuries.
The SPD did not want to say anything about the nature of Ecke’s injuries, but police sources told the newspaper Tagesspiegel that the politician was mauled in the face.
Because the personal descriptions given by witnesses match and the two incidents took place in the same area and shortly after each other, the authorities assume that the perpetrators are the same. Nothing is yet known about the attackers’ motives.
The SPD reacted with shock to the incident. The local party leadership for Saxony said that other campaign teams have also recently been insulted and intimidated when putting up posters. The attack on Ecke is described by the party leadership as an “unmistakable alarm signal” for all Germans. Minister of the Interior and Ecke’s party colleague Nancy Faeser spoke of an “attack on democracy”.
Police are also investigating a separate attack on two German politicians, Kai Gehring and Rolf Fliß of the Grünen. That incident took place on Thursday evening in Essen, a city east of Venlo. Fliß, a local politician, was allegedly punched in the face. His attackers then got into a taxi and drove away. It would involve two people.
The two politicians say in a joint statement that they fear increasing hostility towards politicians. “But we will not be intimidated, because we need people who are committed to their community.”
The number of threats and attacks on German politicians is increasing rapidly. There has been a doubling since 2019, according to figures released by the government in January. Last year there were 1,200 attacks, of which 478 were on members of the far-right Alternative for Germany and 420 on SPD politicians.
Theresa Ertel, a candidate for the Greens in the state of Thuringia, told Reuters that party members no longer dare to man an election booth because of all the insults they receive. The Greens have therefore agreed that there will be at least three members behind each stall.
The SPD leadership has ordered that campaign workers will no longer go out in the dark at night to stick posters on walls. The elections for the European Parliament will take place from June 6 to 9, 2024. In Germany, but also in other Member States, major victories are emerging for radical right-wing parties. The SPD accuses the AfD of having prepared minds for violence against political opponents, which it calls “the tool of fascists”.
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