Key German party candidate beaten while campaigning for European elections

2024-05-04 13:46:02

BERLIN (AP) — A candidate for Germany’s Social Democratic Party, to which Chancellor Olaf Scholz belongs, who is seeking a seat in the European Parliament, was beaten and seriously injured during a campaign event in a city in the east of the country, reported the game on Saturday.

It was the latest in a series of incidents that have increased political tensions in Germany ahead of the vote. The center-left party launched its official campaign for the June 9 election with a rally last week in Scholz’s hometown of Hamburg.

Matthias Ecke, a candidate for the Social Democratic Party, was attacked while putting up posters in Dresden on Friday night, the party reported. Ecke was taken to the hospital and had to undergo surgery for his injuries.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who is also a member of the party, said that if it is proven that the attack was politically motivated, it would represent “a serious attack on democracy.”

“We are experiencing a new dimension of antidemocratic violence,” declared Faeser.

The government and opposition parties said their members and supporters have faced a wave of physical and verbal attacks, and called on police to increase protection for politicians and during campaign events.

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