Almost a month after an attack while putting up election posters in Dresden, SPD MEP Matthias Ecke is calling for public spaces not to be left to the extreme right. "It has to be said so drastically: there are areas here in Saxony and in other federal states where attempts are being made to drive out democrats," he said in an online press conference organized by his party on Wednesday. In such a case, it would be almost impossible to move around safely in public spaces. "Of course, that is completely unacceptable."
Four young attackers aged 17 and 18 - at least one of them from the right-wing spectrum - had beaten up the Saxon SPD's leading candidate for the European elections late at night at the beginning of the month when he wanted to put up election posters for his party. He suffered broken bones in his face and had to undergo surgery.
Sometimes he realizes that his strength is not yet at one hundred percent and he has to cancel appointments, Ecke said. Nevertheless, it's about flying the flag. "Those who do this, and especially those who create the political climate in which people perceive something like this as legitimate, must not be allowed to get away with it," said Ecke. "That's why we must not give up public spaces."
Ecke believes that the security authorities are now more alarmed. "And as far as citizens are concerned, it's always good when people organize themselves and don't give the impression that the far right has hegemony in certain areas. They don't," said the SPD politician. The majority is democratic, even in areas of Saxony where it is difficult. "But of course there is a kind of hegemony over the streets and of course you can't let that be taken away." Hegemony refers to dominance, i.e. superiority.
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