Politicians in Thuringia are in sight: attacks are increasing!

Politicians in Thuringia are in sight: attacks are increasing!

Gera, Deutschland - in Thuringia, the political situation is anything but relaxed. The past few years have brought a dramatic increase in verbal and physical attacks on local politicians: inside, which is clearly reflected in statistics: 353 and 347 attacks were recorded in 2022 and 2023. According to MDR reported local politicians in a study of personal hostility in the past five years. This worrying trend is not only limited to Thuringia, but runs through the political landscapes nationwide

politicians: Inside, the crosshairs of the increasing company split are often in the crosshairs. The AfD has developed into a People's Party in Thuringia and regularly achieves over 33% of the votes. This not only eroded the electorate of the political center, but also created a climate in which attacks on municipal mandate bearers have become sad normality.

examples of attacks

The platform BPB recently reported on various incidents that illustrate the tense situation. In the district of Gotha, the house of an SPD politician was set on fire, while the windows of an SPD office were hit in Suhl. The left President of the Landtag Birgit Pommer also received ugly swastika smears at her constituency office.

It seems that violence against local politicians is becoming increasingly pronounced. A particularly drastic example was the arson attack on SPD politician Michael Müller in Schnepfental in February 2024, who gave up his political career after this incident. Murder threats via social media go to Luis Schäfer, for example, the Greens district chairman in Gera. Safety measures were also necessary by André Neumann, the CDU Mayor of Altenburg, because he is accused of allegations and a possible description procedure.

Reference the pressure

The fact that, according to a survey in Germany in 2024, almost 5,000 crimes were registered against politicians, which corresponds to an increase by 20% compared to the previous year, as the value union . Here both verbal and physical attacks on politicians are perceived as a serious threat to democracy.

The psychological and physical consequences of the hostility should not be underestimated. 82 % of those affected complain about serious consequences. Every tenth attack even thinks about putting down his mandate. These statistics underline how serious the situation is and what effects the social split has on the political commitment of those affected.

The state must act

In order to stop this vicious circle of violence and political dismissal, the value union not only demands sharper punishments, but also an increased political education that restores respect for institutions. The development towards more respect for political work is urgently necessary to strengthen and protect democracy.

Furthermore, the use of advice centers such as "Ezra" and "Elly" shows the first positive approaches, but there is still a lot to do to create a reliable overview of the incidents and to react accordingly.