A German MEP from the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), Matthias Ecke, was attacked and seriously injured on Friday evening, May 3, in Dresden, in eastern Germany, while he was putting up election posters, the party announced Saturday in a press release.
The 41-year-old politician is the head of the SPD list in Saxony for the European elections in June, notes Politico Europe.
He was attacked by a small group of men who punched and kicked him, police said, as reported in the Deutsche Welle.
Police also said he had been “seriously injured” and had to be operated on after the attack, we can read on the website of the BBC.
“The attack on Matthias Ecke is an unequivocal wake-up call for all citizens of this country”said Henning Homann and Kathrin Michel, chairmen of the Saxon branch of the SPD, in the press release. “Our democratic values are under attack.”
Olaf Scholz strongly condemns the attack
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the attack on his party’s MEP. “Such incidents pose a threat to democracy”he reacted.
“Extremists and populists are fueling a climate of growing violence”denounced the German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, also a member of the SPD.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said she was horrified and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. “Matthias, [le Parlement européen] is by your side”she wrote in a message on X.
There Deutsche Welle reports that the head of the SPD in Saxony, Henning Homan, “told German newspaper Bild that three or four strangers suddenly appeared, insulting the team by hanging up posters with homophobic slurs before attacking them”. Henning Homan added that Matthias Ecke would likely remain hospitalized for the coming week.
The investigation was entrusted to State Protection services.
Shortly before this attack, another 28-year-old man who was putting up posters for the Green party in the same neighborhood was also attacked and injured. Authorities suspect the same group of attackers in both cases.
SPD questions role of AfD
SPD officials in Saxony accused supporters of the far-right Alliance for Germany (AfD) party of being behind the attack on Matthias Ecke. “Their supporters are now completely uninhibited and apparently view us Democrats as easy prey”it is written in the press release.
“Saxony”contextualize Politico Europe, “is one of the political strongholds of the AfD.”
“This is the latest in a series of incidents that are fueling political tensions in Germany in the run-up to the elections”observe The Telegraph.
There Deutsche Welle also emphasizes that Friday’s attacks occur after “a long series of verbal and physical attacks targeting local, state, federal and EU politicians from across the political spectrum, both in the eastern and western states of Germany, according to a study carried out by the Heinrich Böll Foundation”.
