Two more politicians have been attacked amid “spiralling” political violence in Germany.
Representatives from the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and hard-left Die Linke group are among the latest to have been victims of attacks over the past few days.
Local media reported that AfD parliamentarian Mario Kumpf was attacked in a supermarket on May 22.
Confirming the incident, the AfD’s Saxony branch said Kumpf was punched in the face by an assailant.
Unser Abgeordneter @KumpfMario wurde heute bei einem Angriff in #Ebersbach verletzt. Ein 53-Jähriger schlug ihm laut Polizei ins Gesicht.
Jeder tätliche Angriff aus politischen Motiven ist einer zu viel. #Demokratie basiert auf dem friedlichen Austausch von Argumenten.…
— AfD-Fraktion Sachsen (@AfD_SLT) May 22, 2024
Police later arrested a 53-year-old man on suspicion of the assault. The motive is currently unknown.
“Every physical attack for political reasons is one too many,” said the AfD Saxony parliamentary group.
“Democracy is based on the peaceful exchange of arguments.”
An Alternative for Germany party member with the regional state Parliament in Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania was hospitalised after what is alleged to be a politically motivated attack. https://t.co/o0HM3UQFVW
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 17, 2024
The assault on Kumpf followed other incidents involving Die Linke councillor Elisa Grobe.
According to a report by Der Spiegel, the local representative’s house has been attacked several times in recent days, with unknown assailants said to have pelted it with stones on May 19.
While Grobe was not at home at the time of that incident, her brother is said to have witnessed the attack.
“He called me just after midnight. I was at an event and went straight home,” the politician said.
“We found several large pebbles on the street in front of the house.”
The next day, her house was again targeted. This time, Grobe said she witnessed a group of young people gathering stones and making what Der Spiegel described as “anti-constitutional” gestures. Some reportedly shouted “Sieg Heil” – a slogan associated with Nazism.
Stones were allegedly thrown through the woman’s window later that night. No one was injured.
The latest incidents come after numerous other assaults on politicians in the country, with political violence having surged following an attack on Matthias Ecke of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Heading up the party list for the European Elections, Ecke was hospitalised earlier in May after being set upon by a gang of men in Dresden.
Germany’s Antifa-linked interior minister Nancy Faeser has expressed concern at the rise in political violence in the country, which she warned is now “spiralling” out of control.
“Those affected are threatened, their offices attacked, their homes besieged, their private property damaged or destroyed,” she said.
“We have to stop this spiral.”
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Read more ?? https://t.co/Hl4fVtpakT #germany #russia #europe pic.twitter.com/XSBapaCvEJ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 15, 2024
