Marie Kollenrott, a member of the Lower Saxony state parliament for the Green Party, was injured by a man in the middle of Göttingen. The attack is one of several incidents in recent weeks.
The series of attacks on politicians continues – this time it is a member of the state parliament in Lower Saxony. The Green Party politician Marie Kollenrott was attacked and slightly injured at an election campaign stand in Göttingen on Saturday. The police and the Green Party parliamentary group announced this on Saturday evening.
Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens) condemned the attack and called for the protection of democracy. “We will not give in! We are defending democracy in our country,” she wrote on the X platform. At the same time, she wished Kollenrott a speedy recovery, “physically and mentally.” Greens politician Jürgen Trittin also expressed his solidarity and wrote on X: “Violence must have no place.” The Greens’ political director, Emily Büning, declared: “Yet another attack on a politician and thus on our democracy and free elections. We will not be intimidated!”
Suspected attacker arrested shortly afterwards
A man had hit Kollenrott, who has been a member of the state parliament since October 2021, several times in the upper body. The 39-year-old environmental and energy politician said she suffered bruises on one arm.
Officers arrested the suspected attacker shortly afterwards near the crime scene. They established the identity of the 66-year-old and then released him. The state security service responsible for political crimes is investigating. According to the police, the man from Göttingen had made derogatory comments about the Greens near the election campaign stand in a pedestrian zone near the Old Town Hall. After a short political discussion, the man attacked the politician.
Several attacks in recent weeks
Several attacks on politicians and campaign workers have caused horror across the country in recent weeks. In Dresden, SPD campaigner Matthias Ecke was beaten so badly that he had to be hospitalized, and local politician Yvonne Mosler (Greens) was jostled and threatened while hanging election posters. In Berlin, a suspect was temporarily placed in a psychiatric hospital after an attack on Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (SPD). AfD politicians have also been the target of attacks – for example, a member of the state parliament from Lower Saxony was attacked several weeks ago.
The Federal Criminal Police Office is concerned about the sharp rise in the number of crimes against public officials and elected representatives. In the past five years, the number has tripled to 5,400 crimes, said agency head Holger Münch to the “taz” newspaper (Saturday). Fortunately, only a fraction of these are violent crimes. However, the violence can escalate to murder, said Münch. It is clear that dissatisfaction with state institutions encourages insults, threats and even violence. This is now increasing ahead of the upcoming elections. The European elections are on June 9th. And in September, new state parliaments will be elected in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg.
Prime Minister: “Dangerous development”
On Saturday evening, Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) said of the attack on the Green MP: “It is and remains unacceptable that politicians are repeatedly the victims of violent attacks during the election campaign. What we are currently experiencing is a dangerous development.” Democracy only works when people are visibly committed to their beliefs in public. He appealed for action against unbridled aggression.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
