The statement said there were other attempts at intimidation and destruction of posters. The assault is currently under investigation by the State Criminal Investigation Department’s Violent Crimes Task Force.
The SPD blamed the attack on Ecke on supporters of the far-right Alliance for Germany (AfD) party. “Their supporters are now completely uninhibited and apparently view us Democrats as a fair target,” the statement said. Saxony is one of the AfD’s political strongholds.
Politicians expressed solidarity with Ecke on Saturday. Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, another Social Democrat, said he was “angry and dismayed by this act of violence” and wished Ecke a speedy recovery.
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European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said she was horrified by the brutal attack and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. “Matthias, (the European Parliament) is on your side,” she says wrote in an article on X.
“Unfortunately, these attacks are not new,” Saxony Interior Minister Armin Schuster said on Saturday. “What is absolutely worrying is the intensity with which attacks are currently increasing. »
Minutes before the attack on Ecke, a 28-year-old Green activist, who was also putting up posters, was attacked by a group of four people, German television Tageschau reported.
During the first week of the European election campaign, 51 political crimes against election posters were reported to the police, according to the Saxony Interior Ministry. A total of 112 politically motivated crimes have been recorded since the start of the year in connection with the elections in Saxony, including 30 against civil servants or elected officials.
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