Attacks on politicians in 2024 that caused a stir

With his lost vote of confidence, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) cleared the way for a new federal government. In the following election campaign it will probably be said again: harassment, hatred and physical violence at the election campaign stands in this country.

Politicians are increasingly being threatened and attacked. There were around 5,400 attacks on officials and elected officials from all parties last year. That is 29 percent more than in the previous year. This year too, numerous attacks on politicians have joined these sad statistics.

There is the SPD local politician who is committed to fighting right-wing extremism and whose house is then set on fire by an unknown person. There are two Green Party members of the Bundestag who were attacked after a party event in Essen. Or the AfD state politician who gets punched in the face in the supermarket. The list could easily be continued.

The murder of Walter Lübcke showed what hatred and agitation lead to in extreme cases. The Kassel district president was shot at close range in front of his house at the beginning of June 2019. His murderer, a right-wing extremist, was sentenced to life in prison.

Current news like this shows that all of this is not leaving politicians unscathed: According to their GdP union, the police have recently recorded an increase in inquiries from election campaigners. “At the moment we are noticing that almost all politically active people are asking for more security and more protection,” said Jochen Kopelke, chairman of the police union (GdP), to the Berlin “Tageszeitung” on Tuesday.

This picture gallery provides a brief overview of some of the attacks on politicians that have received particularly great public attention this year. The list does not claim to be complete.