Germany chancellor and EU leaders denounce attacks on politicians News
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Germany chancellor and EU leaders denounce attacks on politicians

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Union leaders condemned the recent series of attacks on politicians in Germany on Saturday. This included the recent assault on European Parliament candidate Matthias Ecke, who was hospitalized on Friday. One of his attackers surrendered to police custody on Sunday.

Ecke, 41, is a European Parliament member for the Social Democrat Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands). He was attacked on Saturday while hanging up posters ahead of June’s European Parliament elections by four men and was seriously injured, requiring surgery. Investigators said a political motive was suspected. A 17-year-old turned himself early Sunday morning, confessing to the crime.

Scholz spoke out against the violence in a press conference, saying, “We must never allow ourselves to become comfortable with acts of violence like these.” He continued, “Democracy is threatened by acts like these, which is why shrugging them off is never an option. We must stand up together.” Many other European Parliament candidates and members have also expressed sympathy and outrage, including Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parlaiment.

This was only the most recent in a series of attacks on politicians in Germany. The police have confirmed that a 28-year-old man had been “punched” and “kicked” while putting up posters earlier in the day on the same street that Ecke was attacked on. It is believed that this attack was by the same group.

Several commentators have noted that the attacks have primarily targeted left-wing politicians and suspect a far-right motive. Extremist parties, primarily the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, have risen in popularity in recent years. They are now the second most popular party in Germany after the Christian Democrats. The Saxony Social Democrat branch has blamed the AfD for the attacks: “Their supporters are now completely disinhibited and apparently see us democrats as fair game.” The AfD have responded that they are the victim of a hate campaign by the media and political establishment.

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