In Berlin, former mayor Franziska Giffey was attacked by a man in a library on Tuesday afternoon. He hit her first on the back and then again on the head with a bag containing hard contents. The 46-year-old suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital. She was able to leave it again after a short treatment. The suspect ran away after the attack. The police will conduct an investigation.
A few hours later, a 47-year-old Green politician was attacked by two people in Dresden while she was hanging up election posters together with campaign workers. Police arrested a 24-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man shortly after the incident.
The man had pushed, verbally abused and threatened the politician, who has not been named by the police. He also allegedly tore up two posters. The woman allegedly spat on her. According to witnesses, prior to the attack, the pair were part of a group of people in which someone allegedly gave the Hitler salute.
Violence against politicians
The number of threats and attacks on German politicians is increasing rapidly. There has been a doubling since 2019, according to figures released by the government in January. Last year there were 1,200 attacks, of which 478 were on members of the far-right Alternative for Germany and 420 on SPD politicians.
Although the suspect is still missing, the attack on Giffey also appears to be politically motivated. The SPD politician is a well-known face in Berlin thanks to her mayoralty from December 2021 to April 2023. Before that, Giffey enjoyed national fame as Minister for Family Affairs. She took office in 2018, but resigned three years later when it emerged that she had plagiarized the study with which she obtained her doctorate degree.
She is currently serving one year as Senator for Economic Affairs and Energy for the city and city-state of Berlin, and serves as one of the deputy mayors.
