Less violence against campaigners in Saxony

During the parliamentary election campaign, there were fewer violent attacks on politicians and campaign teams in Saxony than in the context of last year's elections. The offer to parties to register activities such as billposting or events with the police has enabled better protection, said Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) when asked. However, the precisely tailored police measures "are also enormously personnel-intensive and have placed great demands on the police in addition to their other tasks".

Middle three-digit number of crimes

The number of crimes registered by the police since the start of the poster campaign is in the middle three-digit range, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The regional focus was therefore in the Dresden police district. In principle, all parties were affected, especially those represented in parliament.

According to the information, violent attacks on politicians and campaign workers were limited to isolated cases. Most cases involved simple damage to property, particularly against election posters. Information stands, party offices, vehicles and events were also affected.

Politicians from the Left Party and CDU attacked

The Left Party in particular reported attacks on its teams during the election campaign. In mid-January, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old insulted Sören Pellmann, a member of the Bundestag, and his wife when they were putting up election posters in Leipzig. Teams in Dresden and Görlitz were also threatened and insulted, and in one case eggs were thrown. There were attacks on information stands in Dresden and Bautzen.

A CDU politician was also the target of an attack. A cyclist threw a solid object at direct candidate Dietmar Link, who was also putting up posters in Leipzig, as he drove past and hit him on the head.

There were several violent attacks last year during the election campaigns for the state, local and European elections. The attack on MEP Matthias Ecke (SPD) in Dresden at the beginning of May caused great horror. He was knocked down at night by several young men and injured so badly that he had to be treated in hospital. Schuster had subsequently announced closer coordination between the parties and the police for more security for campaigners.