German Interior Minister Nancy Feser reported an increase in crimes against politicians and officials in the country. In 2023, 3,691 crimes against officials, elected officials and party representatives were registered, 80 of which were violent, Feser wrote in an article for Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
As the minister noted, a year earlier 1,994 crimes were registered, including 67 violent ones. "Victims have been threatened, their offices attacked, their homes besieged and their personal property damaged or destroyed," Fesser said. Germany is currently experiencing a dangerous rise in disdain for politics and aggressiveness. “We need to stop this spiral”, she pointed out.
On May 21, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs intends to present statistics on politically motivated crime for 2023. Feser recalled the attack in Dresden at the beginning of May against the member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), a candidate for the European Parliament elections Mathias Eke. “This was the sad culmination of a large number of attempted intimidation, threats and acts of violence in recent weeks. We must show unequivocally that a constitutional state will not tolerate this violence – neither against the Greens, nor against the politicians from Alternative for Germany, nor against representatives of any other party”, assured the minister.
She noted that targets of attacks are not only politicians, violence against volunteers, police and rescuers is also directed against society. Such attackers, according to Fesser, should be prosecuted, but this is primarily a matter of resources. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs added that threats cannot be allowed to reach local politicians. “ Here it makes sense to tighten the penalties,”, Feser believes.
Recently, attacks on politicians have become more frequent in Germany. SDP candidate Eke was hospitalized after the incident in Dresden and underwent surgery. Yvonne Mosler, 47, a member of the Union 90/Greens party, was also attacked. Also in Essen, unknown persons attacked politicians Kai Goering and Rolf Fleiss (both from the Greens) after a party event. In Schwerin, a regional deputy from the right-wing populist party "Alternative for Germany" was attacked. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the attacks on politicians.