Saxony's SPD and Greens demand protective measures for election campaign

Ahead of the meeting of federal and state interior ministers following the attack on SPD MEP Matthias Ecke, Saxony's SPD and Greens have called for protective measures for the remainder of the election campaign. "We expect the interior ministers to make a clear promise to the thousands of volunteer campaigners that they will be able to run an election campaign free of fear and violence," said SPD state chairman Henning Homann on Tuesday. "No one should be afraid to put up posters or stand at an information stand."

Resilient agreements with the parties are needed on how posters and election campaigns can be secured, said Homann. "We expect concrete and feasible proposals from the interior ministers."

"Our democracy needs security and protection - more than ever. We must combat political stalking and close gaps in criminal liability," demanded Katja Meier, Minister of Justice and leading Green Party candidate in the state elections. "In addition, we expect clear measures to protect a fair and democratic election campaign," demanded Christin Furtenbacher, state chairwoman of the Greens, from the interior ministers. The public prosecutor's office and police had done a great job in investigating the attackers in Dresden. "This pressure must now be maintained in order to investigate further acts of violence and to take consistent and tough action against right-wing extremist groups."

Homann also called for "consistent action against right-wing extremist organizations such as the Free Saxons, which aggressively incite disruption and attacks". The educational work must not end with the attack on Matthias Ecke; the structures behind it must also be investigated and dismantled. "We must not wait until the next attack."

The SPD candidate Ecke was beaten up by four young men aged 17 and 18 in Dresden on Friday when he wanted to put up election posters for his party. The Saxony State Criminal Police Office (LKA) believes that at least one of the suspects in the attack belongs to the right-wing spectrum. In recent days, there have also been attacks on politicians from the Greens and the AfD. The chairman of the Conference of Interior Ministers, Brandenburg's head of department Michael Stübgen (CDU), invited people to a video conference on Tuesday evening following the incidents.