On the occasion of the International Day of Non-Violence (October 2), Bernd Vöhringer, Congress Rapporteur on the fight against violence against local and regional elected officialsmade the following statement: “Over the past ten years, we have seen an alarming increase in violent attacks against local and regional councilors, mayors, elected representatives and their staff in cities and regions across Europe. This trend seems closely linked to the polarization of society and a clear deterioration in the working conditions of local and regional authorities and mayors in particular.
“Pressure and intimidation can affect local officials everywhere and can take many forms, including verbal and physical attacks, hate speech, the dissemination of false information and “fake news”, insults and slander, threats online and the deterioration of offices and residences. Social media also allows users to more directly confront local politicians and spread hateful content. During election campaigns, the confrontational tone of debates can also amplify threats and discourage candidates from running for office. The fact that local politicians are more accessible to voters makes them more likely to be victims of such acts.
“This crisis has a deterrent effect on local democracy, because it becomes increasingly difficult for mayors to exercise their functions, but also for political actors to recruit people for local politics, particularly among women, young people and representatives of minorities, who remain the main targets of these attacks.
“Congress has been sounding the alarm on this situation for more than five years. We will now address this issue in a new report which will present proposals for action on how to combat and counter this violence and thus preserve local democracy.”
Debate on violence against local and regional elected officials – October 2023
Debate on mayors under pressure
