The former mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey, was attacked on Wednesday by an attacker who hit her in the back of the head with a heavy object. Giffey, who now serves as a senator for the economy in the regional government of the German capital, suffered minor injuries, Reuters reported, citing German police. It is another in a series of attacks on political representatives, which raises concerns about the increase in political violence in Germany.
Giffey, who is a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), was attacked at an event in a library on the southern outskirts of Berlin. The attacker hit her in the head and neck with a bag containing a hard object and fled, police said.
Giffey subsequently spent a short time in hospital where she was treated for a headache. The DPA agency wrote that the attacker had already been identified, but did not provide further details.
Berlin’s current mayor, Kai Wegner of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), condemned the act of violence, saying that anyone who attacks political leaders is attacking democracy. “We will not tolerate this,” he added, promising to consider tougher penalties for such acts.
Representatives of both the ruling and opposition parties have previously warned that their members are facing a wave of physical and verbal attacks, and have called on police to step up security for politicians at rallies ahead of June’s European Parliament elections.
The most serious recent case is the attack on German MEP Matthias Ecke from the SPD, who was beaten last week while putting up posters in Dresden. The politician suffered serious facial injuries and had to undergo surgery. Four teenagers are being investigated in the case.
Tags: mayor Berlin attacked library attack democracy tolerate mayor
