German state minister struck on head as concern grows over attacks on politicians

In a statement on social media, Giffey condemned a "fair game culture in which people who are politically active and engaged in our country are increasingly exposed to supposedly justified and acceptable attacks." Prominent members of the Greens, who are in coalition with Scholz's SPD at federal level, have faced angry protests this year, when Germany holds a string of state elections against a backdrop of rising support for the far right.

A senior figure in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party became the latest target in a string of attacks on German politicians when a man struck her from behind with a bag containing a hard object in a Berlin library, police said on Wednesday. Berlin senator and former city mayor Franziska Giffey was slightly injured in the attack and was taken to hospital for a short time to treat the pain.

A spokesperson for the Berlin prosecutor said a suspect had been identified but gave no further details on the investigation. The attack on Tuesday coincided with an emergency meeting of state ministers calling for greater police protection of politicians after a number of verbal and physical attacks.

On the same day in a separate incident, two people were arrested in the city of Dresden after a member of the Green party was shoved and spat at while putting up campaign posters, two of which were torn down, police said. Before the attack, the two suspects were seen in a group of people nearby and were heard shouting Hitler salutes as the posters were being put up, police said.

The incidents occurred days after another member of Scholz's Social Democrats, Matthias Ecke, was kicked and beaten while putting up posters in an attack that left him needing surgery and was condemned in Germany and the European Union. In a statement on social media, Giffey condemned a "fair game culture in which people who are politically active and engaged in our country are increasingly exposed to supposedly justified and acceptable attacks."

Prominent members of the Greens, who are in coalition with Scholz's SPD at federal level, have faced angry protests this year, when Germany holds a string of state elections against a backdrop of rising support for the far right. Attacks on politicians have doubled in Germany since the 2019 European Parliament elections, according to government data published in January. The number of attacks on elected officials jumped 53 percent in 2023 alone compared to 2022.

Mainstream politicians have blamed the rising political violence on the resurgence of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, whose support has swelled in recent years and could sweep three state elections this year. Following the attack on the weekend on Ecke, Saxony premier Michael Kretschmer, a conservative, said such aggression and attempts at intimidation recalled the darkest era of German history, a reference to Nazi rule.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel has said attempts to use the attack on Ecke for political gains were "vile and irresponsible", and that AfD politicians and members were frequently attacked. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser at Tuesday's meeting of state ministers condemned the "extremely brutal act of violence" against Ecke and said she would speak with the justice minister about tightening the law against such attacks.

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