In the run-up to the EU parliamentary elections on June 9, assaults and harassment directed at various politicians and activists are taking place as the country becomes more and more polarized.
In the case of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which the German government recognizes as suffering the most assaults and attacks of any political party, another attack has taken place, this time against party MP Holger Kühnlenz in Nordhorn in Lower Saxony.
“Today, at the information stand, there was a violent attack against me!” the 63-year-old victim wrote on Facebook, while also sharing photos of the incident.
According to police reports, a 29-year-old man and woman first drove past the AfD information stand and threw eggs at it.
The eggs missed the target, but half an hour later, the same two individuals returned wearing masks and approached the stand. The 29-year-old threw an egg at Kühnlenz, hitting him in the head. When Kühnlenz approached the man, the 29-year-old punched him in the face.
Kühnlenz has since posted a photograph to social media, showing he suffered a slight injury to his face.
Attacks on SPD and Green Party members in Saxony
The AfD member is not the only politician to have been attacked recently.
In Dresden, Matthias Ecke, Member of the European Parliament for Saxony, was attacked and seriously while putting up posters. The attackers, said to be four young people between 17 and 20, punched and kicked the 41-year-old, according to the police. Ecke was reportedly operated on at the hospital but is recovering. A few minutes before the attack, the four suspects had already attacked a 28-year-old Green Party campaign worker while he was putting up posters.
One witness claimed the men, who were dressed in black, belonged to the right-wing spectrum, but so far the police have not confirmed a motive or their identities.
Both incidents took place in the middle-class district of Striesen in Dresden, which is known for its old villas.
