- The risk of election campaign?
It was before midday when a Green Party election helper in the small town of Hohen Neuendorf, about 20 kilometers from Berlin, was attacked. The volunteer supporter of the party was distributing flyers. A few weeks before the Brandenburg state election on September 22, uncertainty is growing - the election campaign is also becoming a personal risk. The debate about an increasing coarsening of the culture, and whether many are deterred from engaging in politics due to increasing attacks and harassment, has been going on for months.
The spokesperson for the Green Party district association in Oberhavel, Anne Schumacher, said: "We, as the Greens, are only met with hostility, no matter what we do." Schumacher is running for the state parliament. But it's not just the Greens who are having a particularly tough time, especially with the latest poll results in mind. In Cottbus, the CDU's state parliament candidate, Adeline Abimnwi Awemo, was racially abused and attacked, and previously, election helpers from The Left were harassed while putting up posters.
Green Party state chairwoman: A threat to democracy
Green Party state chairwoman Hanna Große Holtrup said a day after the incident in Hohen Neuendorf: "It's also a threat to our democracy if you can't feel safe during the election campaign." Violent confrontations are fortunately still the exception, but reports of insults and abuse at election stands and while putting up posters are becoming more frequent. "We are determined to defend our democratic values and will not be intimidated."
State protection is investigating the attack
According to the police, the attack on the election helper occurred on Tuesday morning around 11:30 a.m. in Hohen Neuendorf, north of Berlin, when he was distributing Green Party flyers. A man unknown at this time approached him and expressed his displeasure. According to the police, an argument ensued between the two men.
The perpetrator pushed the 68-year-old volunteer to the ground and snatched the bag with the flyers from him. Then, according to the police, he ran away. The 68-year-old was slightly injured. The state protection department, which is responsible for politically motivated crimes, is investigating.
Mayor to the perpetrator: Turn yourself in and cooperate
CDU mayor Steffen Apelt also condemned the act and wrote on the homepage of the city of Hohen Neuendorf: "Representatives of many parties are currently making conversation offers everywhere. They will certainly also have an open ear for critical tones, frustrations, or pent-up anger." The only means is dialogue.
Apelt also addressed the attacker: "I urge the suspected perpetrator to turn himself in and cooperate comprehensively before he is apprehended."
Green Party action in Hohen Neuendorf after the attack
After the attack, there will be a meeting of Green Party politicians in Hohen Neuendorf today (6:00 p.m.). The top candidate for the state election on September 22, Antje Töpfer, is also expected to attend. The election campaigners want to put up new posters and distribute election flyers in letterboxes.
In the future, the police may also have more deployments to protect election campaign activities. The Greens in Brandenburg, for example, have announced joint election campaign appearances with federal ministers Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock. In addition, the parties are training their members to be able to de-escalate at election stands themselves.
In the case of Hohen Neuendorf, the Green politician Schumacher described the victim as approximately 1.90 meters tall and trained in "meditative conversations". Yet, "anger and violence came immediately. How can one still act democratically in such a situation?"
The attack on the Green Party election helper in Hohen Neuendorf has fueled concerns about safety during the Landtag election campaign. Despite increasing incidents of harassment and abuse, the Green Party state chairwoman, Hanna Große Holtrup, emphasizes their commitment to defending democratic values.
The impending Election to the Landtag in Brandenburg on September 22 is being accompanied by rising apprehensions, as demonstrated by the recent attacks and verbal assaults on election personnel from various parties.
